Defining Moments,Trivial Moments,&Literary Giants
by Tara's folly
Summary: An in depth look at the nights Edward spends with Bella in her room, pranking a substitute teacher, tutoring Bella in literature class, and setting up an Incentive Program to help her learn. ExB AxJ EmxR T just in case. Takes place during eclipse.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything Twilight. Oh, don't I know it's sad.

Ch 1.

I put the bookmark back, closed the book and let it fall to the floor. It was useless. I had read the same page five times and still couldn't recall a word of it. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. Only 10:30pm. Was it possible that time had stopped? It seemed so much later. He wouldn't be back for at least an hour. _Oh, well_, I thought. Might as well make the best of it.

I took the new pajama set out of my top drawer and laid it out across my bed to examine it again.  
The pale pink satin two-piece with it's delicate swirl pattern had called to me the moment I had first laid eyes on it at the mall. It was one of the few shopping experiences with Alice that I hadn't ended up dreading. Alice had even let me pay for it with my own money! I ran my hand over the cool, shiny material one last time before heading off to take my shower.  
Twenty five minutes later, I emerged, feeling refreshed and thankful for the extra ten minutes of time I had allowed myself. The lingering warmth of the steam had tempted me to stay in longer, but the temptation of being ready for Edward was stronger.

After a moment of squeezing the excess water out of my hair and patting it with the towel, I decided to just let it air dry.  
It had been unusually warm this past fall and winter season. The saying _Indian Summer_ came to mind, but I quickly switched gears before I would delve any further into that phrase.

I hastily threw my pajama top over my head and climbed into the pants. The material felt so nice and flowing. It was almost like not wearing anything at all. I loved the effect I saw when I stepped back to look in the mirror. I actually had curves! I smiled as I anticipated Edward's response.11:00pm! Now, what to do for the next half hour?  
I looked at the book still lying on the floor. _The Pearl_ by John Steinbeck. It was our current reading project for Literature.  
_Well, that's definitely out_, I thought and gave the book a little kick as I walked to my window.  
From my window I could see... nothing! I frowned. It was pitch black! I don't even think there was a breeze.  
Bored, I decided to call Alice. After all, it wasn't like she would be sleeping.  
Alice answered on the first ring. "Hello, Bella" There was that sing-song voice I had come to be so fond of. Except this time, there was supressed laughter behind it, also.

Curious, I asked, "What's so funny? I love a good joke. As long as I'm not the subject"  
"Hmm? Oh,..uh...nothing. It was just...STOP IT JASPER!!" More giggling.  
Realization dawned on me. My face turned pink.  
"Ooops. Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt your _'stop it Jasper'_ moment. I will talk to you tomorrow at school"  
"Ok, thanks, Bella! Oh! Jasper says thanks, too"  
"For what?" I asked.  
"The inspiration." Now my face was a deep shade of red.  
"By the way, Edward should be there in eight minutes." The phone went dead and I sat listening to the dial tone for a minute before I realized she had hung up.

From down the hall, I could hear Charlie snoring exceptionally loudly. I was glad he was in a deep sleep. I had to admit that, as impressed as I was with Edward's stealth abilities, I was always afraid that one of these times, Charlie was going to walk in on us. How on earth would I explain that? _Honestly, dad, nothing like that has ever happened. It can't happen because Edward's a vampire and if we get too close, he might be more tempted to kill me and drink my blood, instead. But he is a complete gentleman and I am perfectly safe otherwise. Oh, and did I mention that pretty soon, at my request, Edward will turn me into a vampire too and I will be_ _leaving you so that I 'm not tempted to kill you and everyone else around?_  
Yeah, that would go over really well.

Somewhere in the midst of the monologue in my head, I noticed a strange tingling sensation start at the back of my neck. I had goosebumps, and that could only mean one thing.

_I think it is pretty obvious what that means..._

_Any idea who enters the story now?_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Oh, how depressing are these? No, I still don't own anything Twilight

Ch 2

I spun around and tried to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest when I saw him. How did he manage to get better looking each time? His smile and smoldering eyes left me breathless. I noticed that his eyes were a much lighter shade now than they had been earlier today. I stood on my tip-toes and quickly brushed my lips across his.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"I do now..." He held the last word out and pulled me into his arms. I had waited all night for this. On a grander scale, I had waited my whole _life_ for this. I closed my eyes and breathed him in and as usual, it didn't last long enough.

Suddenly, he gently pushed me to arms length, and admired the new nightwear.  
"Wow! That's...Hmmm. Is that new or have you just been hiding it from me?" he teased.

"Both" I smiled. "Do you like it?" I twirled around like a ballerina for a moment to show it off, and was utterly amazed when I didn't lose my balance and end up on the floor.

He pulled me slowly and deliberately to him again and held me tighter than last time as he kissed me from my chin down my neck and stopped at my throat. "Does that answer your question?" he murmured.  
Since I was too light-headed to respond with anything coherent right then, Edward laughed softly and set me gently down on my bed.

Finally, when I was able to form words again, I asked " So, why were you out hunting so late tonight? I was almost ready to fall asleep because you kept me waiting so long." A miserable lie and we both knew it. He was amused by this and his eyes were wide in mock surprise.

A mischevious smile played across his face."Really?! Because that's not exactly the image I got from Alice- which in turn, leads us to _why_ I was out hunting so long." I was busted but I didn't care! I loved the game too much. He continued on in that same manner.

"So, if the waiting was so awful, why is it then, that you chose to deprive yourself of your much coveted sleep?"

I played along. "Well, I forced myself to stay awake because I was reading the book for literature so I'll be up to speed tomorrow when we discuss it"  
There! That was easy enough! If I had looked at all smug, it didn't last long because Edward walked over and picked up my book from the floor.

The fact that the bookmark was sticking out of the first page didn't escape him, either. "Oh..._This_ book? Well. That makes sense. We probably won't be expected to have gotten past the first page yet. This is only the third week into it, so I'm sure you will be up to speed"  
I groaned. He was too good at this game.I gave up. "Ok, fine!" I conceded. "You caught me! I wasn't up studying, although, God knows I tried. Seems I just couldn't.. concentrate." I looked up at him sheepishly.

Of course he caught the meaning behind that and he lowered his eyes and looked at me seductively as he digested that piece of information, but he was winning and wasn't ready to let me off the hook just yet.

"Hmmm... so if you weren't up studying, I wonder why you stayed up so late, knowing you will be exhausted in the morning." Oh, he was good!

I decided to try a new tactic since I knew I couldn't win like this.  
"Well, Edward, there is a phrase that goes 'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams'... That pretty much sums it up."

I had been inching closer to him as I said that. His smile indicated that he liked the sentiment, but then he asked "And who is credited with coming up with that phrase"

That threw me. I actually didn't know where the saying had come from, but from the look on Edward's face, I was willing to bet he knew because he was bursting at the seams in anticipation of his gloating.

"I give up. Who is it?" I asked in a defeated tone.

_A/N: 50 points to anyone who knows ...Good Luck!_

_Let me know what you guys think of it so far. :) _

_Sorry my last chapter was structured so badly. My first fanfic and I am still trying to get the hang of this. Thank you to the wonderful person out there who helped me fix this mess.. You know who you are._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight or have any plans on how to change that!

I bet you all know which part I would own, if I could , though...

ok- on to Chapter 3

Ch 3

_Dr. Seuss?! Oh, Great!!_ Now I just felt ridiculously stupid as I wondered if I was the only girl to ever try seducing her boyfriend with Dr. Seuss. _Well, it could've gone worse_, I told myself. At least I didn't 'One fish, two fish' him or try to woo him with The Grinch.

My eyes darted to Edwards face, quickly, just to be sure he still couldn't hear my thoughts. He didn't seem to be laughing any harder than before, so I assumed I was still safe in that department. "Ok, Edward, you win - for tonight! Enjoy it, because sooner or later, I am bound to find something that I am better at!" He chuckled at that and patted the bed next to him for me to come closer.

The night hadn't gone exactly like I had expected, but that was ok. Knowing that I would have eternity with him was enough to pacify me for now. I realized I was getting tired as I hurried to curl up next to Edward and tried to hide a yawn. Of course, body language being another of his areas of expertise, Edward smiled, gently kissed my nose, and pulled my covers halfway over me. "I think it's time for some beauty sleep." he whispered.

I fought the urge to let my heavy eyelids close, and came back with "Well, ok, but I don't think you can get much better looking" He laughed for a minute before his face became serious again.

" I meant for _you_! Not that you aren't already beautiful..." His voice trailed off there, but his eyes still burned with a great intensity. He brushed a strand of my hair away from my face and kissed my cheek gingerly. It was incredibly sweet, but added fuel to my flame and left me wanting more.When he reached to kiss my cheek for the second time, I turned my face at the last moment and kissed him full on the lips. His look of surprise, and then acceptance, made my heart pound so loudly that I was sure anyone within a fifty mile radius would hear it.

Of course that wasn't entirely accurate. More likely, only any _vampires_, within a fifty mile radius would have heard. That explained Alice and Jasper's craziness, earlier. It was somewhat unnerving and embarrassing to know that Alice must have seen this coming. She obviously had warned Edward to hunt before he came over tonight.

Edward's face was just inches above mine and I was determined to stay awake for as long as I could keep the mood going. After another slow, passionate kiss, Edward sighed and reluctantly moved a little futher away from me.

When he pulled my covers up all the way, I knew the session was ended for tonight. "Ugh!! You and your ... _boundaries_!" I spat the last word. He raised an eyebrow and whispered "Bella, do you have any idea how easily I could've crossed that boundary tonight? It took everything in my will power not to..."

"Not to .._what_?!" I pressed on. I knew this wouldn't go any further, but I couldn't stop myself.

Edward didn't answer. He seemed not be listening anymore. In fact he had switched gears all together and seemed to be quickly working out some plan in his head, instead. "I've got an idea how to help you get 'up to speed' with the literature project!" he said enthusiastically.

I blinked & shook my head. "Literature?!Ummm...What?!" I asked, confused. I retraced the conversation in my mind, to see if I had missed something. I couldn't comprehend how or why we had arived on this subject.

Edward flashed me a brilliant smile and looked very confident when he replied "Trust me on this. Literature is about to become your favorite class. Now, please, _please_, stop tempting me and get some sleep."

I couldn't fight it any longer. The last thing I heard as I drifted off was Edward laugh and exclaim under his breath " Emmett, you are such an idiot!"

_A/N: Congrats to Sweet.Topaz.Love and Miss Moofy for corrctly guessing Dr. Seuss. I have had that stuff running through my mind for the whole weekend because my daughter just did the play for high school. Don't worry, I am recovering nicely._

_Also - sorry to get this chapter out a day later than promised. I had a death in the family. Fortunately, writing is helping me deal with the grief.. or at least keep it at bay... ok...One Thousand points to whoever guesses WHY Edward is thinking of Emmett right now & calling him an idiot. Keep your minds out of the gutter.. It is nothing dirty._

_By the way - the points that I give out can only be redeemed for bragging rights prizes - sorry it's not something cooler._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Ok, so once again...I don't own Twilight and I still love Edward. Yada Yada.. Everyone should be up to speed on this by now.

Ch 4

I woke to the usual annoying alarm of my cell phone and the _unusual_ smell of something cooking downstairs. I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on the time displayed on the front of my phone. 7:00 AM on the dot. Charlie should have left for work two hours ago. He was going to be late.

I brushed my teeth and hastily dressed in my favorite boot cut jeans and a black ribbed turtleneck sweater. My unruly hair wouldn't cooperate, so I tightly wrapped it into a neat bun on top of my head. Good enough! A quick glance in the mirror confirmed that I looked adequate and I hurried down the stairs to the kitchen to find out what the special occasion was.

My senses were immediately assaulted by the delicious smells of bacon, omelettes, and sausage. I was stunned when I looked around for Charlie, but was happily greeted instead by Edward, in a "Too hot to handle!" apron.

"So true, but I'll take my chances" I muttered and gave him a coy, little smile. "Good morning, my love. I hope you're hungry" he beamed as he motioned to the massive amounts of food on platters.

"What's all this?" I demanded. "Well, I haven't had it in a long time, but I _believe_ it was still called breakfast, last time I checked." came the lightly sarcastic retort.

"What are you up to, Edward?" I scrutinized his face for some hint, suddenly suspicious, but he didn't give anything away. I made a mental note to never play against him in poker. "What? I need a _reason_ to come over and make breakfast for you?" he asked innocently and crossed the room in record time, to pull me into a tight embrace and kiss my throat.

Slightly light headed, I almost forgot what I had asked him. " I just think you should have a proper breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day... or so I'm told." he shrugged, sat me down in a chair, and gently pushed it up to the table.

I usually didn't eat heavy food in the morning and I certainly wouldn't be able to eat _this much_ food. I had grown accustomed to my routine of scarfing down a bagel or muffin as I ran out the door and climbed into his volvo, but I could tell that he had gone to a lot of trouble, and I would rather die than disappoint Edward, if I could help it. I graciously accepted his offering and began to eat. The food tasted as great as it smelled! No- it tasted even better, if that was possible.

My appetite picked up suddenly and I managed "This is really delicious! Where did you learn to cook?" in between bites. It wasn't like he practiced at home for the family or something. He laughed, obviously pleased, and said "I've seen it done a few times. I figured - how difficult could it be?!" I frowned at that and let out a hmph! Another thing he was incredible at! Would the list ever end?

I ate so fast that I went from ravenous to miserably full in less than ten minutes. When I finally set my fork down in defeat, Edward took a moment and cleared all traces of breakfast and grabbed my hand as he herded me out the door.

"Wait!!" I called. "I forgot my literature book." I started to run back into the house to retrieve it when Edward stepped in front of me. "You're not going to need your book today. Now, let's go!" he said anxiously.

"Why? Are we ditching?" I asked, hopeful. Edward grimaced. "No, we're not ditching, although I wish we _were_. Actually, I was sort of _ganged up on_ by my darling siblings and I promised Emmett we would get to the school early today and help him out with his..._project_. But if you have other plans..."

My interest piqued, I looked at Edward for a long moment and said "No. I don't have any other plans. I think I'd like to see what this project is all about." He groaned and replied " I was afraid you'd say that. Just remember - this wasn't _my_ idea."

So, Emmett had roped Edward into going along with some ridiculous scheme?! I wondered if all the other siblings were in on it. _This should be good_, I thought.

_A/N: I love the idea of making Alice & Emmett mischeivous!!! I mean, being in high school so many times has got to get old, unless you spice things up a bit every now & then._

_Anyone wondering why Bella doesn't need her literature book for school yet? I am hoping to get Ch 5 out tomorrow afternoon and I am laughing, already, just thinking about it. I am still offering the 1000 points to - say- whoever comes closest to guessing what will happen in Ch5. Good luck!_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Yes, I hate these... Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, Dan (my husband) owns my heart and he is very sweet about my little obsessions, and I sadly, own nothing except my insane ramblings and mental breakdowns... hooray for me..

Ch 5

We got to school in under ten minutes. _That must be a new record for Edward_, I thought. He grinned devilishly at me as he proceeded to peel my white-knuckled hands off the dashboard and kiss them. Since I had abandoned my reckless days of old, the thrills of traveling at speeds of over a hundred miles an hour no longer appealed to me. I had the best reason in the world to play it safe, now.

As I stepped carefully out of the car, my hands still shaking a little, I could see Emmett's jeep a few rows away and could almost make out his scowling form inside. Alice and Jasper sat motionless in back. There was no sign of Rosalie. It was obvious from Emmett's frown that he had become impatient. I wondered exactly how long they had been waiting for us.

As we approached, they all climbed out of the jeep and I noticed that Alice held an overflowing Waldenbooks shopping bag.  
I wondered when she had made time to go shopping. I was thinking about what might be in the bag, when Emmett growled "What took you so long? Classes start in thirty minutes"

"Relax", came Jasper's soft voice. "We will have plenty of time for whatever it is that you are trying to set up. Um, since Alice refused to tell me what your little prank is, and yet _somehow_ still managed to convince me to go along with it,..Don't ask!... do you wanta enlighten me? Wait! Let me guess!.. super glueing something down, or maybe stink bombing the lockers, or puting ketchup packets under the lids of all the toilets or...Oh! Is it having Rosalie disassemble all the cars in the parking lot again?" Jasper's eyes lit up at that last prospect.

Emmett threw his head back in laughter and slapped Jasper on the shoulder. "Ah, you are such an amateur! No, what I have in mind will be so much better. Then his eyes got a little misty. "Of course, Rose really was _amazing_ with what she did to all those faculty cars. Remind me to tell you about that one someday, Bella!!...You'll love it! ... Yep, you gotta love substitute teacher days!"

I almost shouted in my excitement. "We're having a sub today?! Are you sure?!" Alice still held the shopping bag in one hand, but her free hand immediately went to her hip and she stared at me in disbelief. "Oh, right." I grinned.

At that, she started taking books out of the bag and shoved them into my arms."Quick! They're coming now. We need to start distributing these to the literature students and let them know what's going on." "What _is_ going on?" I asked, painfully aware of how out of the loop I was at that moment.

Alice's face lit up as she held one of the books up for me to examine the front cover. I read the title. "_The dumb bunnies_!" Now that I looked at the book, I felt my stomach flip-flop. Nothing good could come of this. The children's book was brightly colored and depicted a family of cartoon bunnies sitting in a living room, looking, well... dumb!

"Oh, God, no!" moaned Jasper. "_THAT_ is your plan??" He looked to Edward quickly for help since Emmett had obviously just gone out of his mind. Edward just shrugged and then looked at me apologetically.

Emmett's eyes narrowed into little slits. "Well, it's not the _whole_ plan! I mean, obviously there is more to it. But for this to work, I need everyone to play along. ... _Everyone_!! ...Got it??!!"

_A/N: Hee hee.. I am getting close, now. I was laughing at work while I was trying to write this. Sorry it isn't a real long chapter, but I will try to write more in Ch 6. Feeling bad yet for the substitute teacher? Oh, as for the winner of the coveted 1000 points that I mentioned in Ch4..? It goes to vjgm!! Not that her idea was even remotely close to what I was planning, but it made me laugh all the same... _


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I paid around $20 for each book in the Twilight series. So I guess I can _kinda_ say I own Twilight... _looks around_, _hopefully_... Is anyone buying that one? Didn't think so.

Ch 6

I nodded my head in agreement, and felt honored that I was included in yet another family tradition, however strange it might be. I just hoped for Emmett's sake that it wouldn't backfire. Emmett's face reminded me of a kid on Christmas. It was hard not to get caught up in his excitement.

He quickly whispered the rest of the plan to Jasper while rocking back and forth on his heels. Apparently Jasper had a big role to play because he kept looking upward and muttering "uh, huh" every so often. I was glad this literature class had recently been changed to an elective instead of a required English course, or Emmett and Rosalie, being a "year older" would never have been able to join us.

We had all decided to try and get a class together to have a little fun and some more bonding time before my big change. I still wasn't sure how Edward had managed to get all of our schedules to coincide for this one hour. I remembered that when I had first asked about taking this class, I was told by administration that it was already filled up. Of course administration _was_ all females and working miracles was something that Edward had been good at for a long time. He had a way of making impossible things, possible.

Another miracle was the fact that Lauren and Jessica had decided to take Greek Mythology, instead. I just couldn't see either of them playing along. I'd already had to promise Mike that I would sit at a private lunch table with him in order to get him to agree to act his part today and not turn any of us in, afterward.

Edward fumed when I told him about my pact with Mike. His eyes were full of rage and he started to head off to have a "little talk" with Mike when I stopped him. He spun around and his voice was strained when he spoke. "Look - you didn't have to promise him _anything_, Bella! Newton wouldn't have gotten _any_ of us in trouble. He's already pretty threatened by me and Emmett. Mostly Emmett, but that's only because he doesn't know how much I hold myself back when he goes off on his little fantasies over you"

It took me a while, but I did eventually manage to calm Edward down. Like I explained to him, it was only_ one_ lunch hour and I had already promised. Besides, nothing was going to happen other than a couple of humans eating some sub-standard cafeteria food together. It was a public place and Mike wouldn't try anything too crazy with Edward staring him down the whole time.

At some point during my heart to heart with Edward, Rosalie had arrived at school. Her flashy red BMW stood out against the other cars in the parking lot like a sore thumb, and that was just how she liked it. Her car, like Rosalie herself, was a thing of beauty and demanded attention.

Our literature class stood conversing loudly outside the door of our classroom. All were present and accounted for, with their new books in hand, except Rosalie who was nowhere in sight. Emmett didn't seem too worried as he called everyone to order. "Places, everyone! Now...if you're all ready... let's take the stage."

With that, he threw open the classroom door in an overly-dramatic way and muttered something about 'starting the show' as he led the way in. What a primadonna!! I had to stifle a laugh. For a moment, I could almost picture Emmett on the set of some Rogers & Hammerstein production, wearing dark sunglasses, and yelling for makeup as he stormed off to his private dressing room in a fit.

The classroom that greeted us held no resemblance to the room that had been here yesterday. There were no desks, no chairs, no books, no shelves, nothing of any kind that would suggest that this was a literature class. The focal point of the room was Rosalie holding her _'dumb bunnies'_ book and lying on a mat in the middle of a large, rectangular, area rug that covered most of the floor. The rug itself was obnoxious in it's three primary colors, not to mention the individual mats that were scattered all across the rug. One for each student.

Emmett ran to Rosalie and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. "You've been a busy girl" he smiled, obviously pleased with the outcome. "I love it!!" he exclaimed. "It's even better than I hoped it would be!"

She grabbed a mat that was close to hers, and pulled Emmett down onto it. "Good. I am sure you will find some way to make it up to me, later!" she purred. "Ohhhh, yeah!!" came Emmett's response as his fist punched the air.  
"No, I don't think we're on the same page. I said you can make it up to _me_, later, not to _yourself_. So, think a little harder than that." Rosalie smirked.

At that, the room became quiet. The teacher closed the door and turned to face her first class of the morning.

_And so it begins_, I thought to myself.

_A/N: Yes, I know. I teased you again. What can I say? I like the suspenseful build-ups. I also had a rough day today with everyone offering me their condolences, so focusing on writing this chapter was extremely difficult to get through. My daughter encouraged me to keep working on it and get it out there so you guys would keep the faith. Hopefully this will get you through to tomorrow. Thanks in advance to my wonderful reviewers!_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Does anyone not know what a disclaimer is for?? Please don't make me say it again.. It is too depressing..

Ch 7A

She stood there, looking like a deer in the headlights. She couldn't have been more than twenty three. Her long, dark hair, light skin, and brown eyes were all typical features of women from this region. She was pretty enough, I decided, in a girl-next-door kind of way, but nothing spectacular.

Twenty nine pairs of eyes watched her as she walked to the far end of the room, purse in hand, and looked for a teacher's desk to hide behind for the rest of the day. After she realized she would find no such comfort, she reluctantly slid her purse down to the floor and fumbled around in it for something.

She pulled out a piece of notebook paper and frantically read the scribbled letter. After puting the useless paper back into her purse, she took a breath and looked down at the class on the floor. She clenched her jaw and stared back at every student in the class, each in turn. I wondered if she was trying to take time to memorize the faces. Naturally, it didn't surprise me when her gaze lingered a little longer on certain individuals than others.

I started to feel a little sorry for her and was just about to tell Edward that maybe we should call off the prank, when suddenly, all signs of her anxiety disappeared. She was strictly business when she opened in a rather harsh voice. "Ok! Let's get started right away! My name is Miss Pillow and since your teacher is out today, I will be subbing this literature class. Now, I want you all to know that we will be sticking to the lesson plan I was given. I know sometimes students will try to get away with anarchy when a new teacher comes in, but that isn't going to happen here.This will _not_ be a free for all!!"

Edward snorted at that as Emmett and Jasper grinned. Alice looked up once, then went back to flipping nonchalantly through her 'dumb bunnies' book. Rosalie rolled her eyes and looked bored. Typical Rosalie.

The teacher was so caught up with her prepared speech, she seemed not to notice the mutinous looks she was receiving from the class. " I have completed a four-year undergraduate program and hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in english! So, I _do_ have a lot of background knowledge in this area." She went on in her smug tone. "Now, who wants to tell me why you are all lying on the floor?!"

That was all the invitation that Emmett needed. He raised his hand and spoke before he was acknowledged, which furthered her bad mood. "Well, _obviously_ our teacher is fond of more progressive teaching methods. This provides us with a well rounded education and emphasizes ownership of responsibility for our learning and behavior. Someone as well educated as yourself should be able to recoginze that"  
He gave her his most innocent smile and batted his eyelashes.

She stammered. She hadn't actually expected a halfway intelligent answer from this crowd.  
"Ummm.. ok.. How exactly does lying on the floor do that?" she asked.

Emmett's smile got bigger. She had taken the bait. He sighed very deliberately and spoke slower as if trying to explain the universe to a toddler. " I will keep this _very_ basic so you can get the idea. As a group, we can freely discuss our feelings about how a great piece of literature can connect us all, either through psychology or science or even religion. This setting also provides a naturally comfortable and creative environment where we are all free to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills."

The class laughed and her dark eyes flashed in anger. I could tell she hated being shown up, especially by someone who was several years her junior. _If looks could kill, this class would be dead_, I thought. _Ok, well, MOST of us would be, anyway_. I started to giggle at my own little joke and quickly lowered my head to avoid detection.

Edward had been silently studying all of her reactions as he awaited his turn. He placed his book on the ground and rose the hand that wasn't locked with mine high into the air and waved it around, furiously.  
"Miss Willow...?" he began. He didn't look surprised when she interrupted him to correct the mistake.

"No! It's Miss _Pillow_!! _PILLOW_!! You will show me some respect!!" she roared. " And your name would be...? "  
"Bill." Edward answered matter of factly. I wondered at the name choice for a minute. "Or since you prefer to respectfully use last names... Mr. Loany to you!" I groaned and playfully hit Edward's shoulder as he waited for her to put two and two together. When she didn't, he shrugged and continued without missing a beat.

"Anyway, Miss ..._Pillow_,.. " he stressed the word and cocked an eyebrow before he continued "I was just wondering if, before the rest of us begin our routine discussion and debate session, you would give _your_ impression of the book we are reading. I'm curious to hear how someone who is _so much more advanced_ than us in the English field, relates to the characters or their core beliefs.What is your take on the connectedness of it all??" He layed it on thick, stroking her ego. She ate it up, not suspecting a thing.

Several students in the class snickered. A couple were still doubled over in slient laughing fits that had started at the mention of Edward's new name, their whole bodies convulsing. Miss Pillow stared in horror at the 'dumb bunnies' books that everyone was brandishing and spat out " I've never read _that_ particular book!!"

"What?! NEVER??" Emmett shouted in mock annoyance and threw his arms in the air as Rosalie gracefully strode across to Miss Pillow, and handed over her copy. "Here! You can use mine for today. We don't mind sharing things." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice and kept her eyes on Emmett.

Mike had finally regained composure from his recent hysterics and was ready to try his hand in the game of 'Baffle the Newbie'. He kept his face even. " I've learned so much from this book. I mean, it has really taught my mind how to grasp new possibilities and fluidly accept changes from one circumstance to another." He looked over at me and smiled a wide smile exposing a lot of teeth as he nodded his head and winked twice.

_Way to go, Captain Ex-lax_, I thought. He had probably convinced himself that he was uber-intelligent as he spewed out the words that Emmett had prepared for him. I turned my attention to Edward instead and nestled against him. _There. Let's see how you like this response_! Edward's eyes darted to Mike's face and he looked disgusted as he quietly muttered to me in that velvet voice "He could easily be a leading spokesperson for _dense and densibility_." I giggled and leaned in closer.

Alice was up next. She really got into it. She held her book in the air and pressed her other hand over her heart. "This great work of art has proven that literature can be a bright spot for new ideas and innovation. I mean, it has given me encouragement to express my _visions_ to others." Only a handful of us caught the double meaning behind that one. Jasper burst out with "Ha" and immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. Alice was trying hard not to lose it herself, when she finished with "Oh, and by the way, my name is Polly... Or Miss Glott."

Alice looked around the room, expectantly, her eyes dancing. She was met with blank stares from everyone including Miss Pillow. Only her siblings shook their heads at her and groaned. I saw Alice's smile fade as she lowered her book to the ground and spoke softly at vampire speed. I managed to make out some part about _'uncultured and uncivilized society'_. At the risk of being grouped in with _Mr. Dense_, I decided that I would have to ask Alice to explain it to me later.

A/N: A polyglot is someone who is bilingual for those of you who don't know. Don't feel bad if you didn't know that. I actually just learned the word this morning and decided to use it - so I fall into the uncultered and uncivilized category, myself..

I am hoping that I don't have to explain Edward's phony name... Anyway.. I decided to make Ch 7 in two parts because I am working slowly and I hoped I would be forgiven if I at least got something posted for you guys- even if it wasn't finished. The next part of the chapter is going to deal more with Jasper's role that I eluded to in Ch 6. Thanks for being patient!! I am trying to make it worth the wait!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I will be forever grateful to Stephenie Meyer for giving me such awesome characters to play around with...

Ch 7B

Miss Pillow had finally had enough. After the discussion she had just heard, she decided to see for herself what all the fuss was about. She held Rosalie's copy of 'the dumb bunnies' as far away from herself as she could while still being able to read it.

She was clearly repulsed and she only became more infuriated as she read through the book. After she had finished, she threw the rather thin book down to the ground and yelled "_THAT_ is what you've been reading and discussing?? How did that book even end up on the curriculum? I think we are probably all dumber for having read that! There goes ten minutes of my life that I'll never get back!! I don't understand how anyone, _anywhere_ was ever inspired by...by..._THAT_!!" Her face was bright red, except for the purple vein throbbing on her forehead. Those two colors clashed, badly. _Oh, God, that's something Alice would say_, I thought.

Angela looked over at Ben, who nodded in reassurance and she spoke timidly. " I think the 'dumb bunnies' is probably the saddest book I've ever read. That poor family is judged so harshly. Try to put yourself in their shoes for a minute. They must've had _some_ fall from grace, huh? Think about it. Something awful had to have happened to make them the way they are. At one point they had it together enough to fall in love, have a child, and buy a house and try to make a life for themselves.And now,...well..." She lowered her eyes.

Right on cue, the scene in the classroom began to change. I felt an overwhelming wave of anxiety and depression hit me. Intermission must be over, I realized. Another wave of sadness. Jasper sat on his mat in the corner by Alice with his eyes closed. She had her arms around his waist. There was an intense look of concentration on his face.

"Edward..." I croaked and looked at him with tears in my eyes. I was in a pool of despair over absolutely nothing. He took me in his arms and whispered "It's ok. It's just Jasper. God, he has to learn how to target that a little better, though. I almost believed Angela, for a minute there."

The entire class had varying degrees of forlorn looks on their faces. Miss Pillow's upper lip was trembling, slightly. I could tell she was confused over why Angela's opinion was affecting her so much. There was no way she could've guessed the real reason. "Well, I guess it is a tiny little bit sad,.. once you look at it that way..." she conceded as she wiped away a tear.

Ben moved to Angela's mat and held her tightly as she sobbed. Eventually, as the crying from Angela, and now Miss Pillow, slowed, and then, thankfully stopped, I noticed that I had started to feel a little better. Being in Edward's arms had always had a soothing effect on me. He ran the back of his hand up and down my arm and looked longingly at me. Yes, I was ok, now.. In fact, I was starting to feel _MUCH_ better. Or, maybe, I mused, it was the way that _Edward_ felt that was making the situation better. Was he wearing silk? _Man, that's hot on him_, I thought._ He definitely needs to wear red more often. And the top button left undone like_ _that...mmmm_...

Suddenly I wasn't sad anymore. No, I was something completely different. Everyone else in the room had paired up with their respective partners or _brand new partners_, as was now the case for some people, thanks to Jasper. The "love doctor's" unique talents were being put to good use. I knew what was going on, but couldn't stop myself. No, that wasn't entirely correct. More like -I didn't _want_ to stop myself. This was an emotion I knew far too well.

Rosalie, who had been looking Emmett up and down, hungrily, for the last couple of minutes and humming a song, broke into singing. "_My milk shake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like - its better than yours! Dam right its better than yours. I can teach you, but I'd have to charge. I know you want it, the thing that makes me, what the guys go crazy for. They lose their minds, the way I_ _wind, I think its time..."_

Maybe under different circumstances, I would've chanced laughing at Rosalie. Right now, it was anything but funny. Every girl in the room envied her, including me, and every guy in the room wanted to be with her, minus Edward and Jasper. Rosalie swayed her body as she sang, and with her seductive mannerisms, well, lets just say I could see the intense make-out session between her and Emmett coming from a mile away... The strange thing was that Alice and Jasper had somehow avoided detection, but now that I looked, I noticed that they had already beaten Emmett and Rosalie to the punch.

"Rose," Emmett groaned. "You are way too sexy for your own good!" He threw himself at her and knocked her over as he started covering her face with kisses.

There were twenty nine students in the class and unfortunately for me, Mike Newton appeared to be the odd man out. With no partner to ease his desires, he jumped to his feet and made a royally idiotic proclamation. "Bella, .." he started in a deep, low, voice that I guessed he thought was sexy, "I've always wanted to be your _'Papa Bunny'_ "

" You want to be my ..._dad_?! That's just weird, Mike... Besides that job's already filled!" I turned my full attention back to Edward. He had started running his hands through my hair, messing it up, and then went to tracing my lips with his fingertips.I wasn't thinking about my hair. I was wondering exactly _how_ I wanted Edward to kiss me. Emmett and Rosalie would have some great suggestions, I bet. They were puting everyone else to shame. I didn't think I would be able to refrain from Edward much longer. Classroom, or not, my hormones were wreaking havoc on my body. I could tell Edward didn't need to read my mind right now to know what I wanted because the fire in his eyes matched mine.

"No, Bella...what I meant by that was..." There was that little gnat, again. Why, oh why couldn't Mike Newton just shut up? " I want to be your ... _Man_!!" He stressed that word with much emotion. I could see the lust all over his face.

Edward glared at him and said in a dark, threatening, voice "_That_ job's already filled, too!! And don't even bother applying, because you're not qualified for the job and I'm not leaving my post." I might have normally felt pity or embarrassment for Mike over an exchange like that, but I was so busy concentrating on how great Edward's mouth looked when he formed words, that I didn't care.

Mike had finally reached his boiling point, so to speak. He was so worked up and desperate all at the same time, that he did the unthinkable. He had just realized that there was one other person in the room who was alone, like him. He moved in for the kill and tried to make his voice sound as sensuous as possible while he pleaded with his eyes. "Miss Pillow? I bet you are more advanced than us in a _LOT_ more areas than just literature, but I'm a quick learner. Would you like to teach me something new?!" His hand had come to rest at the small of her back and he stood behind her, whispering in her ear.

Blahh... _Creme de la Creme a la Mike_ ... something in the far recesses of my mind told me that I would probably get sick later, when I replayed that part.

Miss Pillow spun around to face Mike and breathed heavily as she pulled him to her. "It's Alicia to you..."  
Her lips moved over Mike's frantically. She looked like she hadn't seen a man in years. And then, just like Jasper had rehearsed, it all came to a screeching halt.

_A/N: Whew!!! Ok, wasn't that fun? BTW - Creme de la Creme a la Mike is a spoof of a line taken from 'The Aristocats' (a Disney movie) so, you see - a very family friendly chapter for you guys this time... hehehe...you know what to do if you liked it._


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the proud "Mama Bunny" here...lol... I'm just another one of the legions of fans who adores her characters...

Ch8

The hypnotic spell had been lifted. "I...I'm so...Uhh, what I mean is... Oh,no...Oh,no...Oh, crap. I can't believe that happened again." Miss Pillow stammered and threw her hands over her guilt-ridden face.

_"AGAIN?!"_ Jasper asked, shocked. "You mean that's happened to you before??"

"Not out of the blue like _that_, ..that was so strange...but...well, there was that one other incident...oh, why do I have to keep attracting the young ones?!" She wailed.

She refused to look at Mike when she spoke. "Sorry for my behavior a minute ago. I should've been strong enough to ward off your lustful teenage hormones. I'm going to submit my resignation tomorrow morning. There has been too much strangeness in this town lately for my liking, but I need to ask all of you.." her eyes searched the class "...to try to forget that this weird day ever happened. I can't explain what went on in here and I don't think any of you can either. But I also remember that _every one of you_ were acting inappropriately! I think some of you might have been downright illegal!!" She glanced in Rose and Emmett's direction "So, if I get ratted out, I'll take you all down with me, got it?! The question is, are you guys going to let me leave with my dignity or is that too much to ask for?"

Emmett had just reached across Rosalie again to tie the strings that were undone on her blouse. She slapped his hand away and answered for the whole class. " Sure. We got it! No one says anything. And you're right! You wouldn't be able to explain it anyway." Her sinister smile scared me a little.

Edward watched with a slightly amused look on his face as Mike Newton kept falling all over himself in his scramble to put some distance between him and Alicia Pillow and for once I got to experience what it was like not to be the clumsiest person in the room.

"So... is that a _'class dismissed'_ that I just heard?" Emmett prodded. Miss Pillow looked up at the clock on the wall. There were still thirty six minutes of class remaining. "Yes. I'd definitely say we've had enough _literature_ for today. Class dismissed. Just...don't loiter in the halls for the next half hour, if you can help it." With that, she picked up her purse, marched out the door and didn't look back.

Students slowly filtered out of the room, leaving just our original motley crew of six conspirators and Mike left. Mike looked like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I decided he wasn't embarassed enough, though, because he could still speak. He wanted me to know he hadn't forgotten my promise. "I'll be saving that table for you at lunch, Bella." he said in a direct tone as he avoided eye contact with everyone else but me.

"Wow!! Mike -you're such a tramp! I never knew you were a player. That's gotta be the fastest rebound I've ever seen!" Emmett jeered as Mike sidestepped him and walked out of the room without saying another word. As soon as Mike was out of earshot, I joined Edward, Alice, and Jasper who were already howling with laughter.

Rosalie stomped her foot, impatiently and hurried us all out of the room. She grumbled about needing us to leave so she could return our classroom to it's original form, but she held Emmett back a second longer than the rest of us to remind him that he was still in her debt. I never did find out where she had hidden the contents of our classroom during that hour.

My sides still ached from giggling a half an hour later, when it was time to say goodbye to Edward. Our next two classes were on opposite sides of the school. I hated leaving him for any length of time and he knew it, but I promised to return to him, in one piece, in a couple hours. We never mentioned it, but Edward was just as painfully aware as I was, that the next time we saw each other, it would be at lunchtime as I sat with Mike. He cupped my face in his hands and brought his mouth to mine. His passionate kisses started slow enough, but rapidly increased in intensity until I felt intoxicated. I started to lose my balance as Edward held me up to him and tilted my head back to kiss me again.

His cool lips opened slightly and I gasped. I was hardly getting any air, but I decided breathing was overrated, anyway. He was so luxuriously delicious, that I pushed for more. I bit his lower lip, lightly and watched with pleasure at the way Edward reacted to that. His breathing was becoming erratic. My own breathing was ragged and came in gasps and I could hear my heart beating furiously. It was pure bliss...and then, without warning, Edward stopped.

"What's wrong...why did you stop?" I was pleading but I clutched my chest to control the breathing at the same time. When he was sure I wouldn't fall down, Edward released me and took a small step back from me. His eyes locked onto mine and held more intensity than I'd ever seen in them before.  
He lingered for a moment like that before he closed his eyes and answered. " Bella... I was getting dangerously close to that little self destruct button you seem to have, and it was like you were trying to _beat_ me there, so you could push it, yourself."

He kept his eyes closed a little longer, and when he did open them again, he appeared to be more calm. I could tell it had taken a great deal of restraint on his part to get back to some semblance of normalcy so quickly.

When he could hear that my heart beat had returned to it's usual rate, Edward took my hand in his and said " I wanted to give you something memorable to think about at lunch today. I'll miss being there, but remember...I'll only be one table back, directly across from you." With that he gave me a dazzling smile, kissed my hand, and walked away. When I couldn't see him anymore, I reluctantly started down the long corridor to my next class. One class down. Six more to go.

_A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, but technically it is tomorrow already..12:40AM... Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope you guys liked this chapter. It is more of the genre that I love to write. Anyway -I have to be up again and cooking in about 5 hours, so goodnight and I love you all! Don't expect anything from me tomorrow... or ...later today I mean. ( see what happens when I don't get any sleep)_


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, (which was about five minutes ago) I still didn't own anything Twilight.

I DID ask my family for the audio cassettes for Christmas, though, so at least I've got that going for me... anyway... here it is.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that yours went without a hitch, unlike mine...but that's a whole other story...

Ch 9

My next two classes flew by with me sleepwalking through most of it. I hadn't been called on to answer a single question and I was thankful for that. I was happy to stay lost in my dream world. My mind wandered until I found myself back in Edward's arms, reliving the scene that had taken place, last time I'd been with him. I was hardly aware of the passing of time.

I went through the motions and everything continued along, with me wonderfully oblivious, until the bell rang and the bittersweet spell had been broken. Fourth period. Lunchtime. I was so anxious and nervous at the same time that I didn't know if I would be able to eat anything.

After checking to make sure my shoelaces were tied, I started off toward the cafeteria. I walked briskly, but didn't chance running. I knew if I ended up falling flat on my back right now, Edward would be quick to make the connection and would go back to treating me with kid gloves. I needed to prove to him that I could still function in the real world after the intense exchange we'd had. I'd have to if I wanted more of it.

When I had arrived safely in the cafeteria, I took a second to catch my breath. I scanned the room quickly, hoping to steal a few exclusive minutes with Edward before I would be forced to serve my sentence. It didn't take long for me to realize that he wasn't here yet. My heart sank even further when I accidentally made eye contact with Mike who was already in the lunch line, holding his tray.

Mike started bouncing up and down and waving me over to him in an obnoxious way. If he flapped any harder, he probably could've taken off, I thought. I debated over sneaking to the back of the line, but with the spectacle he was making, I knew he would never believe that I hadn't seen him. I sighed and hung my head as I walked slowly to my doom.

"There you are!" he called out. He pulled me in around my waist and placed me in front of him when I became close enough. His hand rested carefully on the small of my back. "Come on. You can get in with me." He sounded ecstatic. I was uncomfortably aware that his hand lingered, deliberately, and I felt my skin start to crawl. I convinced myself that I didn't need to endure his overly-friendly gesture to keep my end of the bargain.

As if someone had read my mind, divine intervention came in the form of me being pushed forward, promptly, by a pair of ice cold, steady, hands. My physical link to Mike had been cut off and someone stood in between us. A faint voice whispered in my ear. "Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood vampire-man. Who loves ya, baby?"

"Edward does!" I answered him, and laughed light heartedly. "But thank you, Emmett. I owe you one."

"I know and I should probably start to keep tabs if we're gonna go on like this, but instead, I might just _think_ about this whole thing in great detail and let _Edward_ pay me...with...oh, I don't know... Does your X Box sound like a good enough payment?!" he asked distinctly to no one in particular, but I knew that the intended recipient would have gotten the message.

Emmett's smile grew wider each time Mike grunted with disappointment at being stuck behind him. He sprinted ahead in little bursts and then would stop abruptly, causing Mike to almost run into him every couple of seconds.

I grabbed a bottled water along the way and when we reached the end of the line, I loudly called out my order to our elderly lunch lady, Eleanor, who gently tapped her spatula on the edge of a bubbling pan. "I'll take the chicken parmesan." I said.

"And I guess I'll take some garlic bread!" Emmett continued enthusiastically. "You know how much my family adores garlic, don't you Bella?" His eyes danced, playfully. I was glad _one_ of us was having a good time.

Mike looked distraught as he placed his order. "I'll just have whatever it was that Bella ordered." he mumbled. Lunch lady Eleanor turned up her hearing aid and leaned across the counter until she was almost on top of Mike. "I'm sorry. You'll have to speak clearer. I didn't catch that!" she screeched.

Emmett could barely contain his excitement as he cut Mike off and answered her in a booming voice. "Whoa, Eleanor!! You'd better be careful, there! Rumor has it that Mike is quite the ladies man around here and he LOVES to throw himself at older women, if he thinks he stands a chance with them. You're sending some pretty confusing signals to that young man."

"Well, I'm flattered, Mark, but honey, you could be my Grandson and I don't really think you're my type anyway!" Eleanor sweetly answered Mike who was mortified. She then spooned up a heaping plate of spaghetti and placed double orders of chicken parmesan and garlic bread over the top. "Here you go, Mark. You look like you need a little more meat on your bones so you can get big and strong like him." she gestured to Emmett.

Mike's face was crimson as he caught up with me and herded me to our table by my elbow. I shook my head incredulously at Emmett as we parted and yelled "Enjoy your garlic bread. Make sure you eat _all _of it, now!"

_A/N: Yes, I'm still having some fun at Mike's expense. What can I say? He is just so easy to pick on. And I know - there was no Edward in this whole chapter. You guys know that was hard for me, right? (I had the paper bag right next to me in case I felt like I was going to hyperventilate ) But not to fear. Mike and Bella haven't even sat down yet and our favorite vampire isn't going to miss lunch... _


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I'ts just me..the non-owner of Twilight, again. Did you guys miss me as much as I missed you? _Just lie to me if you didnt.._

Ch 10

Alice and Emmett kept picking up their trays and relocating, to sit one table behind us, until Mike eventually got the point, and stopped switching tables. He finally settled for a spot in the back of the cafeteria. He seemed undeterred, even though he realized that this was the most privacy he was going to get.

He didn't waste any time. "Bella," he started as soon as we sat down. "I don't get much time with you, anymore." His eyes searched my face and I could tell he was trying to get my undivided attention. "Uh huh" I nodded, and looked around, praying for a distraction.

I couldn't help but stare past Mike to the double doors far at the front end of the cafeteria every few seconds. I finally breathed a sigh of relief when my apprehension faded and was instantaneously replaced with a wave of sweet serenity. I recognized his signature tranquil sensation even before they entered. But oh, what an entrance those three made! Every eye in the room was on them. And who could blame them? They were a beautiful sight. Jasper smiled and nodded his head at me and then went back to his conversation while he motioned animatedly, with his hands, to Rosalie and Edward. One of them would laugh every so often as they made their way over to the seats that Alice had saved for them. Edward didn't look at me.

My mind wandered and I followed Edward's alluring form as he glided across the room and sat down next to Emmett who immediately captured his attention. Emmett laughed, slapped Edward on the back, and then shook his hand as Rosalie watched, a huge smile on her face. I saw Emmett gesture to his garlic bread and push his tray in front of Edward who grimaced. I wanted so badly to be included, that I started to feel a little sorry for myself.

It was then that Mike decided to help snap me out of my reverie. He reached around my lunch tray and took my hand in his. "Bella" he said discreetly. I recoiled in horror and pulled my hand away as if it had just been bitten by a poisonous snake. I stared at Mike incredulously before my my gaze shifted to focus on Edward, again.

His lips pressed tightly together and I saw a hint of anger before he shook his head 'no' and went back to the conversation with Emmett. I wanted more than anything, to close the distance between us and kiss him again, touch him, something. It was an overpowering craving, that didn't fade with time.

"Mike, I don't really think this is such a good ..." I shot him a warning glance, but Mike held up a hand to silence me. Again, I looked to Edward who seemed to be engrossed in a game of sorts. He and his siblings were all passing Emmett's garlic bread around the table, as they tried to one-up each other by taking larger bites, in succession.

Mike's voice was barely audible when he continued. "Look, Bella. I'm going to speak quietly so your incredibly jealous boyfriend over there doesn't flip his lid and come running over here and stop me from telling you what I need to tell you. I don't need him to hear this because it's not intended for him."

_'Yeah, good luck with that'_ I thought. I was relaxed enough, thanks to Jasper, but I still couldn't wait for this hour to be over.

"Anyway, " he looked flushed and irritated at the same time "What I wanted to say is that... well.. You're driving me insane!! I mean, there I was, going out with Jessica and I thought everything was going to be fine. It was nice enough at first, but I just couldn't keep _pretending_! It was too much work- Being with her, but thinking of you. That's when it hit me that we were supposed to be together and something had gone terribly wrong. I had to try. I needed to know if I can right this wrong or if I'm too late."

I blinked. "I can't believe you just said that." I mumbled to myself. "I considered you a good friend, but that's the extent of it.. I wanted you to be happy with Jessica, because that's how _friends_ act toward one another! Mike, I am so far gone over Edward!!... After everything I've been through with him...well...you have _no idea_...! I would give anything and everything to stay with him, just like this, forever." Edward's head was bent down as he spoke to Alice, but I could swear he had just smiled, ever so slightly.

Mike shook his head. "Cullen with _my_ girl. It makes me sick. I don't like the way he looks at you, Bella. Like he wants to devour you or something." If only he knew how close to the truth he was, he would have probably run away, screaming in terror and never returned.

I frowned. "Are you finished?" I asked. When he didn't reply, I said "What's wrong with you? Can't you see that I'm happy with him?! There is no 'righting a wrong here' because nothing's wrong! I was never your girl to lose, so stop it! I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Jessica, but in all actuality, _you_ sabotaged your own happy ending. Now, you might be able to start over with her.. I don't know, but you're going to have to let this go."

"Bella, did you forget what happened? Come on!! First, he wouldn't give you the time of day. Then he tricked you into thinking he really cared for you. Once you let your guard down, what happened?! He left you!! For months he was gone...out doing God knows _what_ with God knows _who_. No calls. No letters. Nothing. While I watched you sit here, day after day, heartbroken..."

I was somber, as I thought back to the time he was referring to. "You don't know what you're talking about. I don't expect you to understand this, but it really isn't your concern. Like I said, I've made my decision and that's that!"

He was like a dog with a bone. He spoke louder. "I don't get you!! Do you _like_ pain or something?! He ripped your heart out and stomped on it..."

Suddenly I wasn't paying attention to Mike anymore because standing just inches behind him was Edward, shaking. He looked murderous! His hands were balled into fists at his side, his jaw clenched. I could tell he'd had enough! "_THAT'S IT_ !! Lunch is over!!" he growled. "I'm breaking your little agreement!"

"But, you can't..."Mike stammered.

"Oh, yes, I can! And you'd better leave it - or I will rip _YOUR_ heart out and stomp on it!!"

Edward helped me out of my chair, took me by the hand, and led me out of the room, without another word. His face was still hard, when I looked into his eyes, but he was gentle with me as he urged me along. I didn't care where we were going. Anywhere had to be better than that!

_A/N: Ok.. There you have it, folks. And that's how Mike Newton died!! From Fear of Edward... lol...no- kidding...ooh, that IS kinda tempting though...darn...!! Why didn't I write it that way?? Hindsight...lol...I'm actually thinking of having Edward bring her home now. What do you guys think?? Has she had a long enough day??_


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own my computer where I sat night after night writing fanfiction and dreaming of her characters.

Ch 11

As we neared my locker, Edward stopped walking and turned to me. His eyes were soft and repentant and his voice cracked when he spoke. "About back there...I'm so sorry that happened. I wanted to let you have the opportunity to fight your own battle without people thinking you need your overprotective boyfriend to do everything for you. When I heard that last part though, and Jasper felt your depression, I couldn't stand it any more. I lost it! So, I rushed in and pulled you out of there and basically did what I told myself I wasn't going to do. I interfered, and if I embarassed you, I'm sorry."

_That _was what he was worried about? I smiled timidly at him. "Edward, you didn't embarass or offend me. I don't _always_ mind you saving me, you know. In fact, sometimes I kind of like it. It's flattering!"

His beauty was radiating from every pore of his body. He stared at me in surprise and then relaxed as he realized that I hadn't been traumatized. I dumped my unnecessary books into my locker and pulled him into a tight embrace. My emotions had been one crazy roller coaster ride all day and I still hadn't completely gotten him out of my system, so to speak, from earlier. "So, how badly do you think we would be missed if, theoretically, we went home for the rest of the day?" I asked, as I gently kissed his cheek.

"I don't think that would be a problem at all. Wait here." he chuckled and then was gone. Less than a minute later, I felt him return and brush my arm. His little way of trying to let me know he was back without sneaking up on me. I wondered if there would ever come a time when that wouldn't both excite and startle me.

"It's all set. Take what you need and we'll go, now." His abilities to get what he wanted from the opposite sex seemed to be limitless. I was curious. "So, what exactly did you tell them to get us sprung?" He looked as if I'd said something amusing and smiled. " I only told them the truth. Something at lunch must've made you nauseous and I'm taking you home."

I snickered. "You're so bad!" " Let's just get you out of here before anyone notices that you are the picture of health. That is, unless you _want_ to get sent to gym class..." He flashed that wicked smile that I loved.

I clutched my throat and faked a gagging sound. "Ok, then..." He lifted me into his arms and whisked me off, down the hall and out of the building.

Edward had decided we should pass the time back at his house, to avoid any unnecesary detection from Charlie's neighbors. There was still a little over three hours left before I would normally have gotten home. The drive to Edward's house was no better than the trip I'd endured coming to school. "You know Edward, there's a reason it's called '_breakneck_' speed..." I scowled and closed my eyes tightly. He threw his head back and laughed at that. "Oh, ye of little faith! You should know by now that this is like second nature to me. There's not even a challenge in it, anymore. I promise we're not in any danger."

I sulked and kept my eyes closed until I felt Edward's car pull into his drive and the engine stopped humming. "Safe and sound!" When he reached across to unbuckle me, I opened my eyes. _Click!_ The closeness of him sent my heart racing and I leaned forward and kissed him earnestly. He gave in, briefly. "Not here.." he whispered, huskily. I was happy with his choice of wording. To me, it translated more as _'Let's continue this in the house'_ instead of _'We have to stop, now'_.

Edward let me in the house and closed the door behind me. There was less lighting in the enormous room than the last time I'd been here. The grand piano had also been temporarily moved to the far south end of the room and faced out from the glass wall. Music filled the house and I stopped, frozen in my tracks. I felt the mood coming off of Carlisle and Esme, even though Jasper was nowhere around. My cheeks were pink as I realized we were witnessing a tender moment between them. A song played and they waltzed gracefully around the wooden floors. The dance was so beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Instead I leaned my head against Edward's chest and watched in awe. The poignant lyrics were perfect and applied as much to Edward and I as they did to Carlisle and Esme.

_"You fill up my senses like a night in the forest. Like the mountains in springtime. Like a walk in the rain. Like a storm in the desert. Like a sleepy blue ocean. You fill up my senses. Come fill me again. Come let me love you. Let me give my life to you. Let me drown in your laughter. Let me die in your arms. Let me lay down beside you. Let me always be with you. Come let me love you. Come love me again..."_

Carlisle leaned down and sweetly kissed Esme, signaling the end of the song. I smiled shyly at them and wiped the tears from my eyes, sorry I had interrupted such an intimate moment between them. Esme smiled and walked forward to meet us. "Bella, how nice to see you again, dear." she said sincerely. Her soft eyes always made me feel welcome.

"Early day at school?" Carlisle asked out loud, most likely for my sake, his expression innocent. "You could say that." Edward answered since I was still too choked up to speak. He gently patted my hand that was pressed firmly against his heart. "Early day at _work_?" he asked, playfully. Carlisle came back with "Yes, you could say that, too!" as he laughed freely. It seemed we were all playing hookey for the rest of the day.

We spent the rest of our time together, discussing things we were passionate about. Esme had somehow gotten on the topic of her favorite piano compositions and admitted to loving Beethoven. I nodded my head and threw in Debussy, Shostkovich, and Maurice Ravel much to Carlisle's delight. When asked who my favorite composer of all time was, I surprised everyone and said Edward, which made Esme and Carlisle chuckle, light-heartedly.

I hardly noticed that the three hours were over, when Edward cleared his throat and asked "Are you ready?" My one track mind started reeling and my eyes lit up "_Ready_?!?" I repeated, excitedly. "To go home?" he clarified as he rolled his eyes. "Oh...that. Yeah, I guess so." He laughed at my glum expression and said a quick goodbye to his parents. I let Esme pull me into a quick hug and waved goodbye to Carlisle before Edward led me back down the porch and out to the volvo.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't mind the car ride back to my house. Edward and I sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. Every now and then he would squeeze my hand. My thoughts kept returning to Carlisle and Esme and I smiled, knowing the love that Edward and I had would also stand the test of time.

Once we were safely back in the comfort of my house, Edward kissed the top of my head, strode gracefully to the living room, and sprawled out on the couch, remote in hand. Much to my dismay, he had flipped on the tv and managed to find a football game in progress. The Bears were playing the Packers and I couldn't care less. I'd never had any interest in football.

Edward winked and motioned for me to join him on the couch and I was all too happy to oblige. I was in it for the cuddling time. I was always fascinated to be near him. "Just don't expect me to have an intelligent conversation with you about the game. You know I have no idea what's going on." I pointed out. "I know." He smiled and then went on for my benefit. "Well, you see...The Packers just gave up a sixty yard touchdown pass right after a kickoff return there for a score." He pointed at the screen like that was going to help me understand. My blank expression must have tipped him off. "Yeah, it's not really my cup of tea either." he muffled a snicker.

"Why not go pick out a movie from over there instead." he looked over to the extensive DVD collection in the corner. Curious, I asked "Hmmm..Which one would you like? I wonder what kind of movies you're into?" It was more rhetorical, but he answered anyway.

"I appreciate a wide range of music and movies. Just pick something good! Surprise me!" he purred into my ear, giving me goosebumps.

I was back a minute later, having made my choice. I placed the DVD case face-down as I popped the movie into the player and ran back to Edward's waiting arms. I curled back against him and hit the 'play' button. I had chosen one of my long time favorites and I could sense Edward's confusion when he didn't recognize the movie.

I failed at downplaying the effect that was coming. My heartbeat quickened automatically at the same point that it always did when I watched this movie. It gave me away. Edward noticed and glanced back and forth between the screen and my face. "You like him." he commented. It wasn't a question. He seemed amused that I stiffened and was suddenly uncomfortable. "Who is he?" I tried miserably to sound nonchalant "Who? That actor?! I think his name is Stuart Townsend or something like that." I shrugged.

I wasn't fooling Edward. The corner of his mouth twitched. "No. You like the character he's playing. Who is _he_?" he asked again.

"The vampire Lestat." My voice came out in a whisper. "Until you, _he_ was the sexiest vampire I'd ever known." I wondered if I'd said too much with that last part, but Edward just flashed me a gleaming smile that made my heart melt. I was still staring at him like a lovesick puppy when he tensed and sat up straight. I was wondering if I'd offended him, when Charlie walked through the door and answered my unspoken question.

"Oh, crap! Not Queen of the Damned again! Seriously, Bells. How many times can you watch the same movie before it gets old?"

"Hi, dad. Welcome home." His eyes flickered from me to Edward, his smile fading. "Hello, Chief Swan" Edward said politely. Charlie ignored him. "Hm, so I guess this is the plan for tonight, huh?" Charlie grumbled.

"The movie is good, but the book is _so_ much more beautiful and complex!" I explained to Edward as Charlie poured himself a drink. Charlie was back in less than a minute and sat down in the armchair next to us. I knew he hated the movie, but that he would sit there all night if he thought it interrupted me from having any quality alone time with Edward. He still hadn't forgiven Edward for breaking my heart. I wondered if he would ever let up, when he broke out with "Why do you like all these weird vampire books and movies?"

My heart pounded. "I think vampires are interesting, that's all." I admitted. Wow! Talk about an understatement!

"They're creepy and pretty dangerous! Look at the dumb girl in this movie throwing herself at that one like that... A logical person would be afraid of them." "Thank you.." said Edward agreeing with Charlie on that point. Charlie and I both frowned. "Well, I wouldn't be afraid of them!" I answered promptly. "No. _You_ wouldn't." Edward stared at me with watchful eyes as Charlie started to ask his next question.

"Really?!" Charlie asked. " And hypothetically, what would you do if you ever met a vampire?" Might as well just tell him the truth. It was easier than lying. "I dunno, Dad. I'd probably just fall madly in love with him." I got all misty eyed as I said that and batted my thick eyelashes.

The display made Charlie uncomfortable enough to get up and announce that he was going to order pizzas for dinner. As he headed into the kitchen, I heard him mutter loudly enough so Edward could make it out easily "And after that I'm gonna try to find her a vampire."

_A/N: Poor Charlie. If he only knew that that wouldn't solve anything...lol...anyway..I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm sorry it took me so long to write it, but I went back & rewrote it about five times because I just wasn't satisfied with parts of it.. To make up for the wait, this is a longer chapter than I usually write. And I got to pay tribute to one of my favorite authors - Anne Rice. Up until I met Edward (you know what I mean) Lestat was what I thought the epitome of a sexy vampire was!! He's still not bad and I still love her books 'Queen of the Damned ' and "Blood and Gold' (my fave by her) but she has moved to second place in my heart as favorite vampire author since I stumbled upon Twilight. (And Lestat was way overshadowed by Edward. Duh!!)_

_I am trying to think up some turmoil that will have to take place soon, because it can't always be happy times for Bella and Edward. I'm toying with bringing Jacob into the story to throw a monkey wrench into the midst of things, but I'm also open to other suggestions. (Oh, don't worry - she won't leave Edward for Jacob or anything idiotic like that...you know me better than that..I just need to refill the creativity jar with fresh ideas...) Anyway - as always -I love and appreciate all of my readers and reviewers!!You guys are the best! I mean that!!_


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: No. I don't own Twilight. There. Happy? I am however getting closer to owning a shiny new silver volvo. My husband has decided that Iwill need a new car soon since mine is eleven years old. So of course, you all know which car I suggested for myself...I've planted the seed. Now I just need to cultivate it...

Ch 12

Charlie and I ate our pizza in front of the tv. He didn't mind that Edward always politely refused to dine with us. It made his life that much easier, not having to be hospitable. We watched the rest of the movie in silence except for the occasional sarcastic outbursts of 'Gimme a break!' or ' Oh, that was smart!' from Charlie.

As the movie at last came to a close, I tried to gauge Edward's reaction. He seemed to be miles away, deep in thought. "So... What did you think of it?" I asked, touching his hand, calling him back to reality. His eyes came back into focus and he smiled that warm, familiar smile that I loved so much. "It was interesting. A little over the top." he said, honestly. "And some of the theories were a bit off..."

Charlie was irritable and he snapped at Edward. "Stop - You'll only encourage her! _Some_ of the theories were a bit off?! How about that entire storyline being a bit off?! ACH!!" He threw his arms in the air. Being around Edward hadn't exactly brought out the best in Charlie, lately. "Now that that's over, I think it's time for you to get to your homework, Bella."

His attitude toward Edward put me on the defensive. "I don't have any homework!" I answered icily and stared at Charlie. I held my ground while Charlie scrutinized my face and realized I was telling the truth. He grumbled. "Well, I know you could be studying for that literature quiz that's coming up at the end of the week, right?"

_How did he know about that_? I thought. _Oh, right. He had heard me talking to Angela about it on the phone last we_ekend. I was amazed that Charlie had actually paid attention and remembered that. I would have to watch myself around him if he was going to suddenly become observant.

"Fine! I'll go get my book." I jumped up and stomped off toward my room. I was too agitated to remember to be cautious and was rewarded by a sharp pain as I stubbed my toe on the very first step. I suppressed a yelp and kept going, my eyes watering. I wondered what color the bruise would be in the morning. When I reached the top of the staircase, I turned and spared a glance at Edward whose face was riddled with anxiety and his hand gripped the arm of the couch, tightly. I knew he had witnessed the whole thing because his body was overly tense. If Charlie hadn't been home, Edward would've probably been at my side and swooped me up in under a second. It was him to sit there and watch me. Like watching a train wreck in progress and being helpless to do anything about it.

"Sorry." I mouthed. "Don't be upset. It's nothing!" I added in a voice so quiet that only Edward would have heard. My foot started throbbing as I stumbled into my room and grabbed the literature book off of my night stand where he had left it. When I reappeared in the doorway, Edward was already standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me. His features started to relax a little as he realized that I hadn't sustained any further injuries,while in my bedroom. I held the railing and walked incredibly slowly all the way back down, to ease his nervousness. It hurt like hell, but I fought to keep my heart beating at the same speed.

"How bad is it?" he asked when I reached him. "I don't think we'll have to amputate it, just yet!" I joked, trying to keep the mood light, despite the pain I felt. Edward led me into the kitchen and sat me down as he went to the freezer, and filled a bag with ice. He gently eased my sock and shoe off, inspected my toe while applying the homemade ice pack, and confirmed my suspicions. "It's going to bruise, but it doesn't appear to be broken."

He propped my injured foot up on another kitchen chair and carefully rested the ice pack against my big toe. "Just leave that on. It'll be numb in a few minutes." I could already feel the ice working, and just in time, because my toe was turning an ugly purple color around the nail. Edward leaned down and kissed my forehead.

Charlie had been hot on Edward's trail, following us into the kitchen. "Bells, I swear! You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days." he said jokingly, all signs of his previous irritability, gone. His guilty face explained his sudden change in attitude and I saw a glimpse of the old Charlie that I'd been missing all these months. Both, he and Edward were temporarily united in their efforts to save me. That alone was worth the swolen, black and blue foot I would have to live with. I knew Charlie would never admit it, but I could sense it pained him that Edward was the one who had gotten to me, first. I was smiling at Charlie which added to his guilt and prompted him to ask "Is there anything I can get you, sweetie?"

Remembering how cold he'd been toward Edward lately, I decided to keep his guilt trip going just a little longer. "Dad, it really is going to be pretty uncomfortable trying to study while my foot is on this hard kitchen chair." I frowned and let him make what he would of that. He spun around as if on cue, clapped his hands together, and replied. "Oh, wait. I know what will help!" I could tell Charlie was desperately trying to redeem himself as he dashed off to the living room and yelled out "Don't go anywhere!" I rolled my eyes. Where would I go?

Edward shot me a warning look and added softly "Whatever you're trying - it's not going to work." I smiled and winked at him. Charlie returned holding two mismatched overstuffed pillows and shoved them both under my foot, propping it at an awkward angle. I allowed my foot to roll off the pillows a little and let out an exaggerated sighed. "No, that's not right..."Charlie admitted to himself. He scratched his head and tried rearranging the pillows a couple more times which just made matters worse. I didn't hide my discomfort.

I was sliding and slumped into an unnatural position in the chair, not all of it intentional. "Dad," I finally said as my back started to ache "I'd like to be able to study in my room. I can still read my book but it would be a lot easier to elevate my foot if I'm lying down." I blurted it out quickly, hoping to throw him off. Edward stood behind Charlie and when his eyes met mine, he smirked as he subtly shook his head to the left and then back to the right. Charlie apparently hadn't made the connection yet, because he looked shocked and replied "Bells, it might hurt too much for you to attempt the stairs again right now."

"I wasn't thinking of _walking_ up the stairs." I shuddered for added effect. "I was kinda hoping Edward could... carry me up."

"What?! No offense, but that's not a very bright idea. What if he drops you or something?" Charlie wasn't yelling, but he also wasn't giving in, either.

I felt myself losing the battle. I would have to pull out the full artillery. I unleashed my sweetest pleading smile on him and gave him the puppy dog eyes that he always fell for. "Please, Dad. I need his help. Besides, he's lifted me before and he's quite strong!"

Charlie sat there, collecting his thoughts for a few minutes, when Edward broke the silence. "I've carried Emmett around for a much longer period of time than this will take. I can promise you I won't drop her." Edward chimed in, coming to my aid. I was thankful but I avoided eye contact with him, afraid Charlie would dismiss the idea if he thought I was plotting against him with Edward. I could tell by the expression on Charlie's face that he was considering it. It was just a matter of time until he would cave in.

I worked hard to maintain my calm facade as I held my breath and waited for Charlie's decision. "Oh, alright." Charlie conceded. He reluctantly stepped aside as Edward walked past him and came to face me. It had been easy for Edward to keep his composure. Too easy! He was used to telling half truths. I decided to even the playing field as Edward leaned down for me to hang on around his neck. "You know you smell incredible" I said almost inaudibly in my most breathless tone of voice. That caused him to pause for a minute, but he kept his emotions in check. "Be good, Bella. I don't think he's realized yet that there was more to your plan." he whispered.

Edward gingerly picked me up and took the stairs one at a time in human speed. Charlie walked a few steps behind. As Edward gently set me on my bed and placed a pillow under my foot, I made apologies for the state my room was in. "Sorry you have to see my room looking like this." Then, to stress my non-existing point for Charlie's benefit, I threw in "You'll just have to trust me when I tell you it's not usually this messy. I didn't get much sleep last night and I guess I was just too tired this morning to clean it up before I ran out of here."

Again I noticed Edward giving me a look that clearly meant 'Stop pushing your luck'. Charlie looked at Edward dismissively. "Well, Edward, it was nice having you out, tonight...and thank you for your help getting her up here. I guess I'll go ahead and take over now..."

"Dad. No! I want him to stay. I still need to study." It wasn't a great argument, but it was all I had. And technically, it was still true.

"So...what does that have to do with him? He can go home now and you can still go ahead and study."

"Well, he's kind of tutoring me for the literature class. He knows the material much better than I do so he was going to help me make sense of it."

"I don't like this, Bella! He shouldn't be in your room! Period!!" Charlie eyes were hard as steel. I watched Edward move closer to the door. I got worried as I thought he was actually going to turn and leave, but then he pulled the chair out from my computer desk and placed it at the foot of my bed. He sat down in the chair and held up his copy of John Steinbeck's "The Pearl".

"If it's ok, I can just sit here. I don't need to move from this spot. You can read your book over there, Bella and I will coach you from right here. Leave your door open that way your Dad can stay or come and go as much as he wants to check on us. I promise I will be completely appropriate and not do anything to compromise you." He took turns looking from my face to Charlie's as he spoke.

Charlie seemed baffled at the amount of confidence Edward had just shown and at the fact that Edward had pretty much just made his decision for him. "Well, that sounds reasonable, doesn't it, Dad?" I hoped Edward was bluffing about being a complete gentleman, but from the look on his face, I kind of doubted it. "You'd better not move an inch toward her, Edward, or so help me..." Charlie said in the most authoritative voice he could muster. "No sir. Not one inch!"

Edward's eyes came back to rest on me. "Go ahead and read the chapter you're on and I will ask you some questions about it when you're done." Edward continued in that same commanding tone. "What are you going to do while I'm reading?" I asked, already frustrated.

"I will wait." He sat perfectly still, like a beautiful statue.

I cracked open the book and scowled at Edward. It was hard to read, knowing he was so close to me and yet I couldn't stand what little distance was between us. Every time I paused to look up at Edward, his eyes were already on my face. Charlie grew bored with this and excused himself after fifteen minutes when he was sure nothing more was going to happen.

As soon as Charlie was out of earshot I spoke. "Edward, are you _trying_ to drive me insane? I can't concentrate with you watching me like that. Besides, I didn't exactly picture it like this in my mind. This is pure torture!"

Edward chuckled. "I know, but I told you that what you were planning wouldn't work. Besides, do you really want me to come over there and ravish you with your Dad so close by?"

My mind started reeling with the implications of what he was saying. No, obviously I didn't want that in front of Charlie. After all, Edward would be back later and I would have all the alone time that I needed with him, then.

"Ok, I get your point. I didn't think it through all the way. But I still don't understand this... I thought you had some plan to make literature more interesting for me. Like some reward program or something." I blushed, wondering if Edward would catch my not so subtle hint.

Edward grinned his crooked smile and replied "Oh, I've got incentives that are going to help you learn. For right now, that's all I'm going to say. Just trust me- I'm going to make it worth your while. Now I believe you were almost halfway through the first chapter?" he raised one eyebrow at me and I got lost in his smoldering eyes again.

I did the calculations in my mind. Another hour until Charlie would send him home for the night.. Then another hour or so before Charlie would go to sleep so he could return... I returned to the book and started to read quickly. Amazingly, I had managed to digest some of what I was reading. The story wasn't too bad once I finally got started. Of course, occasionally my mind would still wander to Edward's incentives and I'd have to read the last paragraph all over again.

_A/N: ((Handing out a glass of champagne to everyone here for a celebration toast)) Let me start out by first thanking all of the sweet people who have been reading this story and reviewing it for me and saying such nice things! This toast is to you as I wanted you all to be able to share in my celebration. You made it possible!!.. I had set a secret personal goal to see if I could get one hundred reviews. I think I was around hundred six or hundred seven last I checked. That's so amazing and I'm really touched. Ok- I know. Some of you were hoping for more Lestat in this chapter and I love him too, but I had to move on. I got a lot of great ideas from some of you about how to add turmoil into the story. It will come in a few chapters down the line - after I explain Edward's " incentive to learn" program. Anyone want to guess how he rewards her? Come on.. Give it your best shot... Who knows..There might be points involved for whoever has the closest theory._


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Hey!Does anyone want to guess what I don't own? Want a hint? It rhymes with Mylite and Schmedward. lol..I'm loopy. I stayed up all night again writing...

Ch13

I couldn't believe how engrossed I had become in the book. I almost didn't want to put it down when Charlie knocked lightly on my door frame, signalling time for Edward to leave. Had an hour passed already? As promised, Edward hadn't moved an inch from his original position and Charlie looked both surprised and impressed.

I felt a pang of guilt and wondered how badly I'd bored Edward as I replaced my bookmark, this time near the end of the second chapter. 'The Pearl' was proving to be a pretty interesting read. Edward stood and pretended to stretch his legs after sitting so long in the same place. He turned to Charlie first, always respectful. "Goodnight Chief Swan." I suddenly didn't want Edward to leave. I wanted to discuss my new revelations with him.

My lips burned with the one question I yearned to ask Edward. I had come to look forward to the tradition, my little game of naivity. For some reason, I always needed to end each evening by confirming that Edward would return to me later, after Charlie was asleep. And I was always legitimately overwhelmed with a sense of relief when he would say yes and kiss me before leaving. I thought for a second about finding some other phrase or clever innuendo to hint at my intentions, but after careful consideration, I decided against it. Charlie wasn't stupid and I didn't dare say anything that would tip him off.

Edward stared at the book in my hand, most likely taking note of where the bookmark held my place."I knew you were still reading that chapter so I didn't bother you with any questioning, just yet." Like he could possibly _ever_ bother me. "I will quiz you later, once you've had a chance to finish it." I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like he had vaguely stressed the word _'later'_. He must've noticed my hopeful expression because his smile became more prominent and his eyes held mine as he lowered his head and said "Goodnight, Bella."

I watched Charlie become more nervous by the second and then usher him out of my room before we could bid each other goodnight any further. I heard the sound of the door closing and the deadbolt being locked downstairs and five minutes later, Charlie was back, with a fresh ice pack, motrin for pain, and a glass of water. "Just in case" he had said. Then he hugged me and closed my door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

It took longer than usual to maneuver out of my clothes and into my pajamas. I had opted for my old sweats tonight, for convenience. I flung the top over my head and pulled the oversized shirt down to my waist. The pants were a little more treacherous. After accidentally snapping the elastic cuff on my toe, I did finally managed to get them on, too.

I had started missing Edward, almost immediately after he'd gone, but at least I had an interesting way to pass the time, now. I opened my book, determined to get through the second chapter before Edward came back. I didn't want to lose any quality time with him, tonight. I was enjoying the story, but I still wanted to hold Edward to his bargain of rewarding me. I was excited about my prospects for the future. That was, if I could pass his tests.

I looked over and breathed a sigh of relief as I noticed my window had been left open since last night's encounter. Fortunately, that meant I wouldn't have to hobble over to it. I immersed myself back in the book and was surprised how easy it was to pick up right where I'd left off. _Was this the same book I'd thrown on the ground last night_?! I wondered.

I had finished the second chapter easily, and was working on the third, when I noticed a slight breeze. I looked up and inhaled sharply. My beautiful Adonis was smiling down at me. "Edward" I said and set my book down at once. I held my arms open to him as he bent down, stroked my cheek, and then gently kissed my waiting lips.

" I can see you've actually been studying. So, no problems concentrating tonight then, huh?" he asked.

"No problems, _yet_!" I corrected him and pulled him down to join me on the bed. Edward cautiously moved on top of me and then over to the other side so he wouldn't accidentally come in contact with my sore toe. It was difficult to think when he did that, but I pulled myself together with some effort.

"Alright, Edward. I believe you were going to question me? Do your worst. I'm ready." I felt the first hint at a mounting excitement as he replied "A little anxious to get to the _rewards_, are we?"

"So, lets see. You've gotten past the first two chapters, huh?" I nodded, proudly. "There are four chapters remaining. I think one prize per chapter is fair. Except I'm counting the first two chapters as one. No, Bella! Don't look at me like that. You thought you were going to get _two_ prizes tonight? Don't be a hero and try to finish 'The Pearl' in one night. You need to take the time to _really_ read this book and digest it because it has a lot of symbolism and deep thought in it. But you know I can't disappoint you either, so if you pass the teacher's final exam on it at the end of the week, I will count that as the extra chapter that you forfeited. In fact, if you can pass with a "B" or higher, I will give you the grand prize." My eyes were wide as I pondered what the _'Grand Prize'_ might be..

Edward pursed his lips and continued. "So, to be fair, since I'm lumping the first two chapters together, you will only have to answer one question tonight. But think carefully because it isn't true/ false or multiple choice. Are you ready?"

My heart was pounding. "What happens if I get it wrong?" I asked, first. Edward considered that and answered "Well, then you have four more chapters to try and get it right. I'm really hoping you won't get any of them wrong, though." I understood. If I got it wrong, I lost the prize that went with it. I swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.

"Ok. So my question to you is this. You have seemed to really take a liking to this book, now that you finally got started on it. I am assuming you identified with one of the characters and made a connection of some sort. I want to know which character and why. Again, I am the judge of whether or not your answer holds any merit."

I wasn't expecting something quite so difficult for the first question. I didn't really know why I liked the story, other than it flowed nicely and the characters seemed real to me. I stalled to buy myself some time.

"I identified with Kino, the husband, because we have both gone cliff diving!" I laughed, jokingly and then realized I had spoken without thinking. I wished I could take it back the minute I said it.

Edward's eyes narrowed. "What?! Kino was cliff diving for pearls!! He needed money for his family!! You were just cliff diving for...well...it wasn't for your l_ivelihood_, that's for sure! Is that your answer,then?"

_That was stupid, Bella_. I thought to myself. "No. I was just playing around. I'm sorry. Let me think about it for a minute."

I scrunched up my face and tried hard to think of a way to express myself, properly. "I guess I do still identify with Kino, though. I know he is the man of the house and all, but when his baby was stung by the scorpion, my heart went out to him. All he wanted was to ease the baby's pain. He even swallowed his pride and took the baby to a doctor that he knew would refuse treatments because they have no money to pay for them. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep his family safe and bring in the money. Family is the most important thing to him. He is governed by his emotions. I see myself understanding his heart. I would do _anything_ to try to keep someone I love from going through unnecessary pain, too. In a lot of ways, Kino is every bit as fragile as his infant son."

I closed my eyes, remembering what I had read so far. I was pleased with my answer, but I knew that Edward's assesment was what would decide if it was good enough. Edward sat, unmoving, he looked astonished. "Is that good?" I asked. "Better than good" he admitted. "You could have told me that you identified with any one of the characters and I would have accepted it as long as you had something to back it up with. But that...that was unexpected. You pass with flying colors!"

"So my reward is...?!?!" I couldn't stop grinning and I wondered if I looked as excited as I felt.

"For tonight's test, and tonight's test_ only_.." he stressed "I will let you choose your own reward...within reason."

I felt faint. Could I really ask for what I wanted? I decided I'd better do it now, before I lost my courage.

"I want you." I said bluntly. Edward shifted a little. "You _already_ have me."

"No, I don't. Not in the way I_ want_.." I trailed off there. Edward sat up to look directly into my eyes. "Bella, I said within reason. Our first time isn't going to be like this with your toe bruised and you taking advantage of winning some literature quiz." I giggled. He had misunderstood me. "Edward, I didn't expect it all on the first night. I thought maybe a little continuation of the make-out time from earlier today at school..." I stayed quite still, waiting.

"I have to be nuts to even think I should do this." Edward groaned. Then he moved so quickly that I didn't realize at first what was happening. His lips were on mine, moving perfectly, only pausing long enough for me to suck in another breath of air. His hands moved from my face, down my neck and shoulders, to my hips. He moved slowly. As his ice-cold lips moved to my neck, I drew in a long shuddering breath. I was intoxicated with him. I tried to remember something about some rules that he would make me follow, but whatever it was, it quickly slipped away. My hands moved over his back, lifting his shirt. He smiled and kept kissing me. I pulled his shirt over his head and ran my hands down his bare, muscled back. I marveled at the contours. The coolness of his skin felt wonderful against the heat my body was emitting. I was panting as I ran my hands down his back once again and touched the top of the 'Everlast' button fly boxers that were just barely sticking out over the top of his jeans. Apparently that was the cut off. He stiffened and moved away from me to the edge of the bed and took my hands in his own.

"Mmmm... I wish you could control it a little better. I was really enjoying that. A little too much, maybe. I forgot that I have to constantly be on guard with you..." He let my hands drop.

"I'm sorry" I muttered. I wasn't sorry that I tried, just that I'd pushed the envelope too far that time and had gotten caught. I sat up and frowned as Edward put his shirt back on. I still had the image of him burned into my mind. I was trying to complete the total look in my head, remembering what little I had seen of his boxers. It was too sexy for words.

"Wow!! So do we get to do that again tomorrow night if I get that question right? I love this form of reward. Honestly Edward, that was such a great incentive to get me to learn..." I was rambling as Edward shook his head and smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd be the overnight _Valedictorian_ if I continued your lessons like that!" he laughed.

"But no! Now I start choosing the incentives, remember?..." I growled. I doubted he could come up with anything better.

_A/N: Ok- I hope that got it out of your systems for those of you who were determined to have me put this particular reward in. I figured I might as well just get that out of the way, now. Don't get me wrong.. I love their intimate moments, but I have so much more in store for Edward's incentives.. I've only just scratched the surface. (For anyone who hasn't gotten it out of their system - go look at the ads for the "everlast" button fly boxers. They are seriously hot! Now, picture them on Edward. ok..'Nuff said??!_

_Oh, BTW - I don't know if anyone remembers this far back, but I do like to tie up loose ends since I'm kinda anal about stuff like that, myself, in stories...There was a chapter where Rose told Emmett he could make it up to her for her helping prank the teacher. Everyone remember?? Well, Emmett tried offering her some intimacy gift and she told him to try harder...Her gift from Emmett will be in the next chapter. NO!! I absolutely refuse to make it sexual, so don't even ask.. I'm already in love with her gift idea.._

_Guesses? Think Rosalie! And I give one hundred points to the closest person. I know the points are useless..It's just fun, folks.Play along, ok? Oh, The winner of the undisclosed amount of points from last chapter is toujoursmoi. Congrats...I WILL still do what I hinted at.. Love you all and thanks to everyone who sent me those adorable messages with guesses or well wishes. I promise to keep responding!_


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: When I sleep, I have dreams that I'm Stephenie Meyer. I know it's not the same thing, but it makes for some pretty amazing dreams!!

Ch 14

I wasn't sure at what point during the night I fell asleep. All I knew was, one minute I had been cuddled up next to Edward, feeling guilty for still thinking of his half naked form while he innocently hummed my lullaby, and the next minute, I was being woken up by a cold pair of hands, shaking me. "Ouch! Be a little easier with me, love.." I murmured drowsily and giggled.

"Rise and shine, ..._sweetheart!!"_ came the disgruntled female voice. I opened my eyes and bolted up so quickly I almost gave myself whiplash. "Rosalie!!?? What are you doing in my room? Where's Edward?" I tried to hide my disappointment.

She laughed."Yeah, sorry it's not who you were hoping for, but get dressed! I'm taking you to school today. Edward's ..._out_... with Emmett and Jasper, getting prepared.." I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about the way she said that didn't sound right. I scrambled out of bed, my purple toe looking much worse than it felt, and immediately moved to my closet and started pushing hangers of clothing aside, one by one, not satisfied with anything.

"It never used to be this bad. It seems like he has to go out hunting almost every other day, now." I was fishing for more information. Unthinking, I grabbed an oversized two-way zip cardigan, threw it at my bed, and missed. The dejected sweater fell in a crumpled mess on the floor. Rosalie wrinkled her nose, stepped over the sweater and came to stand beside me. "I know you weren't going to wear that _thing_." She looked back at the pile on the floor and shuddered. "But, yeah, maybe if you didn't push Edward to his physical limitations on a regular basis, he wouldn't need to go away so often. Is it worth it?" I tried to read her face, but she was emotionless.

She was tight lipped, not saying anything else on the subject, but something inside of me started to seriously doubt that the guys were out hunting. Her eyes lit up and she handed me a hanger holding a black charmeuse dress that I'd never seen before. "Oh. Now this..Why haven't you worn this before? This is perfect!"

"Where'd that come from?" I asked, confused. "Well, it's _your_ closet!" Rose turned the dress over and ran her fingers over the tag hanging from the sleeve. "Wow!! It's a Sue Wong! Nice!! Hurry up and put it on so we can get going." She was even more impatient than usual, if that was possible.

After a few more protests,which Rosalie ignored, I was in the dress and I had to admit, I looked fabulous in it. I could've sworn it was tailor made for me. "Rose, isn't this a little much for school?" I asked, unsure. I admired the look in my full length mirror which, of course, I'd had to share with Rosalie who kept pulling her hair over her shoulder and then puting it back. She had taken up almost all of the space in front of the mirror. "For school, maybe. For later, definitely not!" She tugged her Brazilian low rise jeans down a little more and flung her hair back behind her again before donning a pair of sunglasses with red frames and a diamond on each side. Only Rosalie could outshine me in jeans and a vest.

"Ok. We look great. Let's go!" She grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs, not quite as carefully as Edward would have, until I paused in the kitchen. "One second , Rose! I need to hunt something down for my breakfast." I laughed while she narrowed her eyes into little slits and crossed her arms over her chest. I frantically ran through the kitchen, on a mission. "Here. How about this?" she asked as she picked up a green pepper and threw it at me. I caught the pepper in one hand and laughed even harder as I set it back down. 'That's not exactly breakfast food." I teased and picked up a croissant from a package sticking out of the pantry. "Here we go!" She sniffed the croissant and frowned in disapproval. "And _that's_ better? Whatever. _Come on_!"

I took a big bite of my croissant and slammed the front door shut after turning the bottom lock from the inside. When I spun around, I was met, head on, with the sole purpose for Rosalie's visit. Rosalie stood at the end of the driveway, leaning against the hood of the most beautiful fire engine red car I'd ever seen. My breath caught in my chest and I let out a low whistle and made my way over to admire her new toy.

She was beaming! I'd never seen her look that happy. It made her face somehow even more beautiful. Like she needed it. I couldn't speak. "So?!" she asked. "My gift from Emmett for my assistance in project 'Pillow Prank'... Don't you love it? The 2008 Maserati Spyder. One of the most beautiful cars ever made. Can you believe he almost wanted me to keep some _Jaguar_, instead??" she made a face at the word 'Jaguar' and opened the driver's door and hopped in. "Get in, Bella. You're arriving at school in style today." she ordered while I tried to pick my jaw up off the floor. The car, fully loaded probably cost as much as Charlie's house.

"Yeah, he brought home both of the cars for me to choose, but there was really no competition. Even Emmett agreed once he saw me behind the wheel of this baby. Like I told Emmett, a great car should represent it's owner, don't you think?" She winked, unfastened two latches, and hit a button to transform her roadster into a convertible. "There we are. It's beautiful, topless!" She looked pleased with herself.

"Oh,no." I groaned, totally embarassed. Emmett was smarter than everyone gave him credit for. I could just imagine how grateful Rosalie must have been to get this as her new present. I tried to keep my mind from going in that direction. My hands started shaking as I reached around to buckle my seatbelt. Rose peeled out of the drive before I could get it clicked into place.

She drove even faster than Edward. What was with this family and their need for speed? I wondered. Rosalie, always loving a dramatic entrance, gave everyone a show as we pulled into the student parking lot. She accelerated unexpectedly, hit the brakes, and then slid perfectly into a spot between a Sentra and a Corolla at the last minute. _Well, that's certainly one way to stand out!_ I thought.

Every eye was on us as Rose raised the hood, secured the latches, and stepped out of the car. People were pointing and staring. I personally found it a little nerve racking, but Rosalie ate it up and smiled for her legions of adoring fans! She lived for that kind of thing!

Alice was humming a song and came skipping up to us the moment we were out of the car. "Show off" she muttered. Rose let out a low chuckle while I pulled Alice aside. Maybe I could get more information out of her. "Alice. Do you know where Edward is?" "Yes." came the simple answer. I saw Rose flash her a look. "So, where is he?" I prodded. "Umm...with Jasper and Emmett?" I was getting frustrated. 'Why are you both being so secretive today?" I demanded.

Alice's pleading eyes shot to Rosalie's face. "No!! Edward will have our heads!!" Rosalie answered her silent question. "Bella, Edward should be back by lunchtime. Everything is fine! The guys just had something they had to do. Please don't ask me any more questions, ok? Oh. One more thing. You are supposed to read chapter three during literature today and afterward I have to ask you a question that's written down around here somewhere..." Alice started digging through her purse and eventually moved to her pockets until she found what she was looking for. "Ah. Here it is. I will need to think your answer very loudly in my mind. If you are right, Edward will tell you about the reward when he comes back for lunch."

"You'd better not get it wrong!" Rose said, her eyes blazing. Whatever it was, it obviously involved Rose and probably Alice, too, by the looks of it. I was a little uneasy, under pressure. I didn't want to ruin whatever it was that they were looking forward to so much, but I had no idea what to expect.

Our teacher had given everyone quiet reading time. It proved to be very convenient. All throughout literature class, I noticed Rosalie and Alice watching me. Occasionally Alice would nod and give me an encouraging smile. Rosalie, however, always looked apprehensive. I was cramming so hard I almost didn't notice the dirty looks coming from Mike Newton. _Oh well. I dont have time to worry about him today, anyway_. I told myself and kept reading, trying to take in as many details as I could.

Five minutes before the bell rang, I had finished chapter three of 'The Pearl'. I put my bookmark at the beginning of chapter four and looked up to see Alice patiently waiting. She smiled hopefully at me, giving me confidence, and I nodded that I was ready.

"Ok, Bella.." she pulled the paper out of her pocket and we both read it, together. In Edward's beautiful writing was _'Alice, make sure Bella doesn't refer back to her book when she answers this. Since she is probably right there alongside you, reading this, I also can't put the answer in here.'_

We both frowned and I continued reading his note. _'Ask her to tell you how Kino was lowballed by the pearl buyers. I'll be listening to her response through you. P.S. give her my love.'_

_That's it?_ I thought. "Oh, Edward. That's too easy. You must _really_ want me to win this reward." I said to Alice, knowing he would hear my words. "The buyers in town hear word of Kino's pearl and decide they will offer him the lowest price he will take out of desperation. Their job is to get Indians to give over their pearls for less than their actual value by working together with the other pearl buyers in the city. Because there are three pearl agents, it seems like they're in competition for the pearls, but they all actually work for one man and in this way they are able to cheat the locals out of their pearls for very little money... Hey, Edward??... I'll be waiting for my reward, so hurry back!!" I added that last part with a smug tone, squeeled, and held Alice's hands as we jumped up and down together.

Rose smiled slightly and as the bell rang, she gracefully floated out of the room. With one last look over her shoulder, she said "Thanks, Bella. I'll see you guys at lunch." Then she was gone. Alice hugged me briefly then ran off to her scond period class, leaving me to walk alone down the hall.

Mike and Jessica were both in my next class. U.S. History. It was one of my least favorite courses. I could never remember dates or places and I didn't even enjoy the company anymore since things had gotten weird with Jessica. I was one of the first students to get to the classroom. I sat down in the back of the room and prepared myself for a long, boring hour.

Mike walked in shortly after with Jessica right behind him. "I've been thinking about you nonstop! Haven't you missed me, baby?" I heard Mike laying it on thick and almost gagged. He was such a pig. "Oh, yeah. I've missed you... with every bullet I have!" Jessica's voice dripped with sarcasm as I tried not to laugh. "Come on Jess! You know I can't function without you. Say you'll come with me tonight... you know I'll be doing it for you." I could see Jessica's resistance fading. "I'll think about it." she answered in a tone that might as well have just come out and said _'Yes, I'm going to take you back_.'

I rolled my eyes and thought of asking Jessica what was going on tonight, but decided not to at the last minute. After all, her plans with Mike might have nothing to do with what Edward and I would be doing later and I really didn't want to engage Jessica if it could be avoided.

_A/N: Winner of the 100 points for correct guess of Rosalie's gift is...drumroll... iwish1986..Congrats! You can stop by my imaginary "Redemption Desk" and pick up your 'bragging-rights-for-the-day' award!!lol..After all those guesses, can you believe you were the only person to correctly guess a car? A lot of people were so close, though. Almost everyone was on the right track.. and vjgm- it broke my heart not to give you the points because you had it at one point in time - then changed your answer to a tool. So sad...I was pulling for you, too. Oh- the idea I asked you about will be in the next chapter . It's 12:30 am and I'm going to bed so I didn't put it into this chapter because I'm not to that point yet and I didn't want to stay up another two hours writing. ((Hey-Lori - did you like that one? Recognize Dan's sarcastic comment in there?))_

_So - as everyone can see, Bella got the question right. Her reward will happen after school and a lot of other classmates are also going. ok- let the guessing begin. This one isn't an obvious answer, so the points are double!! Good luck and once again - I love you guys and if I could I'd give every one of you your own personal Edward Cullen. _


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer still owns Twilight and I still own an eleven year old Nissan Sentra (for the time being. I'm desperately working on trading up to the Volvo, though) and my never-ending supply of worthless points. Well, that seems fair!. lol..

Ch 15

Avoiding Jessica Stanley turned out to be easy. Apparently she didn't want to talk to me either and that was just fine with me. Meanwhile, our teacher droned on with his lecture about 'Old Ironsides'. He was passionate about his obsession, but unfortunately for him, the subject wasn't going over as well with the students. I guess a bunch of teenagers just didn't see it as being too important or relevant in their lives. All I knew about the war of 1812 was that it had between America and Great Britain and we won. That and the obvious. It took place in 1812.

There was still a strange feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air, that I knew had nothing to do with history. Everyone was keyed up and talked amongst themselves in hushed undertones. I decided to phase it out and just let my mind go blank, only vaguely curious about whatever it was. Probably just some stupid after school football game or something.

The bell was a welcome sound. Trigonometry class with Angela finally came, and not a minute too soon. I'd been fighting the urge to nod off for the last twenty minutes. I sprinted across the lawn over to the back building, grateful to be done with history for today, and almost knocked down a few freshmen in my haste. I had a plan. The solution was so simple that I couldn't believe it hadn't occured to me earlier.

"Angela..." I said catching up to her as she gave Ben a peck on the cheek and reluctantly sent him off to his classroom which was just two doors down. "Oh, hey, Bella. How's it going? You know - I tried getting your attention in literature class but you seemed a little... out of it." Her face was soft and forgiving.

It was hard not to like Angela. She was always so sweet and easy going. "Sorry," I apologized, knowing she would understand. "I had to get through that third chapter in the book as soon as I could. Edward's tutoring me now. He has me read a chapter at a time and then he asks me questions. It's been interesting so far. Anyway - I'm pretty sure I've earned some sort of reward because I aced his last test."

We sat down at desks near each other and she smiled a wide, knowing smile. "Rewards from Edward Cullen, huh? I could definitely see some advantages to that. Hey, remind me later to implement a similar program with Ben." She looked thoughtful and I could sense her mind had gone back to Ben as she smiled.

It was now or never. "Umm... Angela? Is there anything interesting going on after school today? I'm getting so tired of the same old things. I was hoping maybe Edward and I might try someplace new to hang out."

Angela turned her face away from me quickly so I couldn't see her eyes. She was clicking the top of her little pink pen, in a nervous way. "Let's see. Someplace new...There's a new Chicago pizza place that just opened last week. Ru's Pizza, I think it's called. Maybe you could have Edward take you there. I heard it's supposed to be pretty good."

She had conveniently avoided the first part of my question, but I seriously doubted that Ru's Pizza was causing the frenzy at school. I'd have to be more direct with my line of questioning. "Everyone seems to be really psyched over something going on later today. Do you have any idea what it is?" There! I cut right to the chase! That was about as direct as it got!

Angela had a problem with lying to anyone about anything. She held herself to a high moral standard. I had always admired that quality in her, but right now she was making me nuts! She was fidgeting in her seat and didn't answer me right away. She looked everywhere but at me. "Angela!!!" I yelled.

"I'm not supposed to tell you." she answered quickly and let out a breath. I didn't say anything. I knew if I waited long enough she would break. I stared at her, dead on, as she became more nervous. When she couldn't take the silence anymore she blurted out "Don't be mad, Bella. Edward told me not to say anything."

Instinctively my gaze scanned the room. I stood up. "Edward? He's here?!" I asked, actually expecting to see him show up and whisk me away. "Sit down, Bella. I don't think he's _HERE_ yet. I thought he said he'd be gone until lunchtime."

I was irritated. Everyone except me seemed to know what was going. That combined with the fact that I hadn't seen Edward in almost eleven hours, was getting to be too much for me. I scowled.

"Angela, I don't care what Edward told you. I'm not going to let up on this, so you might as well start talking now. And don't leave out any details!" I demanded.

Angela sighed, but secretly looked a little relieved to finally be telling me the truth. "There's not really that much to tell. Yesterday before lunch, Edward came to talk to me and said you might come around asking questions about some plans for tonight. He said he had to be away for a little bit, but would make it back by lunchtime and he begged me not to tell you anything. I don't know if you've noticed this about Edward, but he kinda does this thing with his eyes...it defies logic...well, anyway, the next thing I knew, I was promising I would keep it all hush hush. Of course I know what's going on, but he seemed to think he would be _surprising_ you with it. I don't know how that's possible. With the way everyone's been talking about it for the last few days, I can't believe you haven't figured it out."

"It's okay" I managed and nodded as I sat back down. I understood all too well. Angela wasn't the first person to be coerced by Edward's hypnotic gaze. I spent most of the next hour, racking my brain to try and solve the mystery on my own, in between doing trig problems. I tried desperately to remember any conversation or hints that might have been dropped. Anything that would jog my memory. Nothing! I hadn't seen any flyers for a dance of any kind, thank God. Not a play or a talent show, either. I scanned the faces in the room and wondered how far Edward's reach to keep me from finding out, actually extended. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would just have to be in the dark a little longer.

I scooped up my books and scrambled out of my seat the second the bell rang. "Come on!" I yelled and dragged Angela by the arm, forcing her to keep pace with me. She caught my expression. "Kinda jumpy, now aren't we? You must be really hungry.." I smiled at that, but didn't slow down until I rounded the corner and pushed through the double doors into the cafeteria.

Edward stood holding a tray full of food and waiting for me in all his glory. His black Hugo Boss crew neck T-shirt and faded Armani light wrinkle jeans accentuated him in ways that should've been illegal. "Oh, God. You look sexy!" I said, my mind not fully functioning, yet.

He set the tray down and gave me a little smile as he held me out at arm's length to admire my new look. " I look sexy? Bella, I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You are _beyond_ sexy!! Perfect for tonight. Alice was right on the money with that little number!" Alice!! Well, it all made sense, now. I should've known as soon as I saw the designer label.

"I hear you've been asking questions." He made a tsk tsk sound. "You should've known I would anticipate that. So, what have you figured out, my sneaky little human?" he whispered that part and gave me a coy little smile. I felt anxious, elated and guilty all at the same time.

"Well, I realized that you gave me an exceptionally easy question today. So I figured that whatever the reward is, it's something you wanted me to win, pretty badly. Rose and Alice were desperate for me to get it right, too, so I'm guessing they've got a vested interest in it. Kind of like- if I win, they win. That and the fact that half of the school is buzzing over whatever is going on later means we're not going to be alone. A lot of people will be there." I frowned at that last part. I had still held out hope for more alone time, until the end, but the grin on Edward's face told me I was right about everything so far.

"So, what is your guess?" he asked, patiently, still smiling that angelic smile. All the clues were there, but I still had no answer. "I don't know, Edward. I'm really bad at this. Can't you just tell me?"

He took a deep breath and pulled me close. He kissed me softly as he put a piece of paper into my hand. I unrolled the paper and stared incredulously at it as I read. It was an admision ticket.

**Battle of the Bands returns! November 13, 2007 6pm-10pm**

**Tickets are $25 All proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities!**

**Featuring last year's champs THE KARRY OAKIES!!**

**Come and support your favorite local high school bands as they compete for prizes, bragging rights, and the coveted number one title!**

**Rock out with students from all over the Quillayute Valley district!**

**Port Angeles High School**

**Forks High School**

**Bogachiel High School**

I waited for the punchline that didn't come. Edward stared into my eyes for a long moment, his face earnest. I wondered how I looked to him, now. I couldn't think of anything to say.

Angela grabbed my hands and was practically bursting at the seams with excitement. "Oh, please say you're going, Bella! Ben and I will be there. It'll be so much fun. Some of the bands are amazingly talented. You won't be able to stand still. And the people-watching is great! Some of the kids from the other high schools really get crazy into it." Alice, Rosalie and Emmett had the same pleading looks in their eyes.

"Bella, it's a riot! We went last year and had a great time dancing, watching everyone perform, and ripping on Lauren's Godawful band. Personally, I'm really hoping she still sucks just as bad this year. I need a good laugh!"Emmett said, his eyes twinkling. Alice and Jasper nodded. "Rosalie, why are _you_ so interested in going?" I asked. She hadn't said anything and I just didn't see this as being her type of thing.

"What?! I like music too." she said and shrugged. "Correction -Rosalie loves any opportunity to get out there in a hot pair of low-rise jeans and shake her ass to music." Alice answered for her, teasing. I looked to Rose's face. She smiled and nodded, not denying any of it.

"Yeah. And I love any opportunity to be a part of that, so you can count me in!!" Emmett said as he grabbed Rosalie around the waist. She smiled wider, pleased with the compliment. "Well, you guys know I don't really dance, but I'm up for a night out. Charlie might not let me go, though, Edward. It is a school night and he probably won't want me coming in that late." I was still slighty confused at how this constituted a reward for _me_ when everyone else was more excited about it than I was.

"Nice try." he said. "It's already taken care of. Alice talked to Charlie and told him she wanted a chance to introduce you to new people and other after-school activities. I think she threw in something about exposing you to life outside of me. He is ecstatic!" Edward laughed as I pouted. " Do this for me and I guarantee you will end up having fun in spite of yourself. The money goes to charity too..And did I forget to mention that Alice also told Charlie you'll be sleeping over at _her_ house tonight with permission of Carlisle and Esme." Her house. True meaning - _His_ house. I couldn't believe Charlie hadn't connected the dots. He must _really_ like Alice!

I blushed a little. "Well, ok, Edward. I'll do it for you... and for charity." Jasper slapped his hand to his forehead and laughed while Alice clapped her hands together victoriously.

Four hours later, I found myself in a crowded stadium at Port Angeles High School. Their school dwarfed ours. I recognized a lot of faces from Forks High, but the majority of the crowd seemed to be from the home school. Close to a thousand people had shown up to cheer on their favorite bands. Edward held me close to him and I couldn't help but feel elated at how attentive he was being. I saw several girls eyeing him, hopefully. Edward followed my line of sight and held me tighter as he kissed my hair.

Alice and Jasper stood a few feet away with their heads together, laughing. Emmett was behind Rosalie, already practicing some lewd dancing number, and Angela waved Ben over to us. He was the last of our group to arrive.

Already, a couple of fights had broken out in the back over someone showing up with someone's else's girl and a few band members jumping ship at the last minute. It was mass pandemonium among the audience. The rules for the competing bands were simple enough, though. Each band would be given a maximum of eight minutes on stage. They were allowed to do one cover song and one original song and could use any equipment provided or bring their own. The judging would be based on panel members votes, combined with audience response.

A young overly-tattooed coordinator with several body piercings took the stage, grabbed the microphone and tested it for sound quality. After assuring that all the regular microphones, body mic's and equipment worked properly, he gave a short speech, thanking everyone for the wonderful turnout and reminding everyone that the proceeds are going to charity. He then called the first band to the stage as the audience cheered and whistled. Apparently quite a few people remembered last year's champs, fondly. All four guys had that messy 'bed head' look, which completely worked for them. "I wish I could look that good without trying." Ben joked as Angela whispered something in his ear.

"They owned the stage last year! You made them your champions!! They're back this year, fighting to keep their title. From Bogachiel High...They are The Karry Oakies!!" the announcer boomed in a loud voice. I recognized the song as soon as it started. Disturbed was a band that I had listened to a lot over the past year. The drums had an irresistable beat and I found myself bouncing happily alongside Edward to one of their more popular songs.

"_Just stop- enough of the limitless critical comments on my life_

_Just drop the judgment and all of your pseudo-involvement in my life._

_ Step back a moment, and look at the miracle starting in your life._

_ Don't stop the moment, and let the incredible happen knowing that._

_ All that you want is to criticize Something for nothing_

_ And all that I want is forgiveness one more time To be the best in the world_.."

The audience went nuts as the song ended and the band launched into their next song. It was a little slower, but that didn't stop Rose and Emmett from grinding on each other, just as they had during the first song. Alice had her arms around Jasper as they moved slowly in synch with each other, eyes closed. When their eight minutes was over, the audience screamed. It was a logical assumption that they would be the winning band for a second year in a row. It was a tough act to follow. I felt bad for whatever band had the unfortunate timing of going on next.

"From Forks High. This is Alibi!!" My feeling bad for the unknown band lasted all of three seconds. I groaned as soon as they walked onto the stage and started to feel sick as they butchered one of the songs I had recently discovered, and up to that point, had liked.

_"...Whoa, I never meant to brag But, I got him where I want him now.  
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag To steal it all away from you now.  
But god does it feel so good,  
Cause I got him where I want him right now.  
And if you could then you know you would.  
Cause god it just feels so,  
It just feels soooo good..."_

Lauren was poured into the tightest, shortest jean skirt and low cut top possible and screeched through the entire song as she stretched her arms out in Edward's direction. It was an embarassing display that caused Eric and Tyler to be off beat. I grouped them under the 'guilt by association' rules. The loud grumbling of discontent continued through the crowd but I focused on the small voice next to me chanting her own mocking song. I laughed at the irony and joined in.

"U.G.L.Y. You aint got no_ Alibi_. You ugly!!"

Lauren was undeterred and began singing her own song which was similar in lyrics to the first. It went on and on about trying to convince some poor sap to leave his girl for her so she could show him 'what's really going on.' It was the most obnoxious thing I'd ever heard. Emmett called Lauren a name, and made a face at her, only to have Rosalie slap him on the arm. "What's with the open invitation? Don't stick your tongue out at her, Emmett. That's just asking for trouble."

Lauren was a delusional, tone-deaf alto who thought she was a soprano. Edward roared in laughter as she tried to belt out decibals too high for humans to sing. "This is so awful. The dogs in the neighborhood are probably running away yiping with their tails between their legs." I joked.

"Really? Well, I hope the _next_ Battle of The Bands is at La Push, then." Edward couldn't pass up an opportunity to get his digs in. " Sorry." he added, afterwards, not very convincingly.

The night continued on with most of the bands being very good. I had to admit that even Mike Newton had a nice vocal range. His band 'Hot to Trot' did a rendition of "Wait for you" by Elliot Yamin, that was pretty good as long as I didn't think too much about why he was singing it. Edward was right. He knew I would have a great time. I guessed that the wonderful company I was keeping had a lot to do with it.

I turned to face the rest of his siblings and found Jasper doubled over, eyes squeezed shut, with Alice comforting him. His hands were on his head and he kept nodding and trying to focus on the sound of Alice's voice. Edward whispered something to Emmett at vampire speed and put his hands on my shoulders as he spun me back around to face him.

"Bella, Emmett and I are going to take Jasper away from here for just a minute to help him clear his head. Too many emotional sweaty people jumping up and down...I'll be back as soon as we can calm him down. Rose and Alice will stay with you." I understood. Jasper usually avoided situations where he would be crowded in with this many humans all at once. He was losing focus.

I watched as Edward and Emmett told Jasper to put an arm around each of their necks for support as they walked him out of the stadium. I bit my lip and spoke to Alice. "Do you think he will be alright?!" I asked, trying not to panic over what it would mean for all of them if Jasper lost control here. Alice didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"He's fine. Just needed to take a walk. You'll see. Give him five minutes." Her face was incredibly confident for someone whose man had almost needed to be carried out. I kept my gaze still and squinted, watching for any sign of the guy's return. I wanted to know the second they came back. I was so determined to keep vigil, that my back was turned to the stage.

"And so, ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the last band of the night. Keep the love flowing for 'BLOODLUST' " From the stage behind me, I heard the guitar start low and soft. Then the drums, loud and resonating. _This song has a nice beat_. I thought. _I hope Edward gets back here in time to listen to it with me._

I turned and gasped as soon as I heard the beautiful velvet voice.

"_It's too late baby _

_There's no turning around _

_I got my hands in my pocket _

_and my head in the cloud _

_This is how I do... when I think about you"_

"Come on. Let's get closer!!" Alice squeeled as we made our way down to the front. Edward grabbed the microphone stand and leaned it over to him as he sang into it, a look of total concentration on his beautiful face. Jasper was in a wide stance and looked like a natural as he strung the guitar and jumped around onstage. His 'moment of weakness' had obviously been a ruse. He winked at Alice. Emmett was at the drums and blew a kiss to Rose as he kept perfect time. Rose, Alice, Angela, and I jumped up and down and screamed. _This_ was what they had been keeping from me. All the secrecy had led up to this moment!

"_I never thought you could break me apart_

_ I keep a sinister smile and a hole in my heart_

_ you wanna get inside -then you can get in line but not this time_

_'Cause you caught me off guard Now I'm running and screaming_"

Edward stopped dancing and slid to a halt as he gazed meaningfully into my eyes. He touched his first two fingers to his lips and then extended his hand as if he could reach out and touch me. He was standing still and he took my breath away as he sang the next line..

_"I feel like a hero and you are my heroine"_

The phrase made me as weak in the knees then, as the first time he had ever said it to me. I almost passed out from the intensity. I was instantly hooked on the song that I had never heard before. Edward was moving around the stage again. He knew how to work a room. He was whipping the girls in the audience into a frenzy. I sympathized with the hungry looks in their eyes as they took in the beauty that was Edward, Jasper, and Emmett.

"_I wont try to philosophize. I'll just take a deep breath and I look in your eyes. This is how I feel and its so surreal._

_I got a closet filled up to the brim with the ghost of my past and the skeletons and I don't know why you'd even try- but I won't lie_

_You caught me off guard now I'm running and screaming"_

I noticed that the sweet melodic voice singing the harmony and backup for Edward was Jasper. I was amazed at how nice they sounded together! I shared my opinion with Alice who beamed. The Cullen men were absolutely incredible. I had a feeling they could do anything they set their minds to.

_"I feel like a hero and you are my heroine_

_ do you know that your love is the sweetest sin_

_And I feel a weakness coming on_

_ never felt so good to be so wrong _

_had my heart on lock down and then you turned me around _

_And I feel like a newborn child everytime I get a chance to see you smile_

_ it's that complicated - I was so jaded_

_And you caught me off guard now I'm running and screaming"_

The music had a dramatic pause now and the crowd screamed. People threw their hands in the air with the universal 'rock on' symbol. Girls were frantically scribbling their phone numbers on paper or whatever they could find and throwing them onto the stage. One girl was yelling loudly to her friend that she was going to take her bra off and throw it a the drummer to get his attention. Of course Rosalie heard that and responded by grabbing the girl hard around the wrist and sneering "You might wanta rethink that!! I guarantee that if you throw your bra at _my_ man, it'll be the last thing your arm will ever throw." The girl's face turned white and she struggled out of Rose's grasp and walked away, shaking her head.

_"I feel like a hero and you are my heroine _

_do you know that your love is the sweetest sin"_

I got butterlies in my stomach every time Edward sang that part. I knew he was thinking back to the first time he had said those words to me. I blushed and fanned myself. Something about the way Edward had expressed his feelings so publicly made me want him even more.

"_I feel like a hero (And i feel a weakness coming on)_

_ And you are my heroine (never felt so good to be so wrong had my heart on lockdown and then you turned me around) _

_Do you know that your love is the sweetest (And I feel like a new born child everytime I get a chance to see you smile it's that complicated) _

_sin (I was so jaded)"_

Edward sang the melody and, Emmett and Jasper sang together on the alternating lines of the last verse. _He looks so ...animalistic...so intent,_ I thought. The song was addictive. The crowd was loving every minute of it. Girls fainted and irritated boyfriends silently cursed the power that the men were having over their girlfriends. Of course they couldn't help but get a little into it too.

Finally 'Bloodlust' launched into the final song of the night, but not before Edward dedicated it to me, Rose and Alice. This song was a completely different style. Faster beat. Less intense.

_"Have mercy on my eyes ..Lady, what'cha wearin now? You know it's a crime ...The way you look in clothes. Girl you take the prize... Five foot five and dressed to kill. Strike my fancy every time you strike a pose._

_But there's one more outfit that I ain't seen yet -One more outfit that looks great I bet!_

_I bet you sure look cute -In your birthday suit! I bet you sure look cute -In your birthday suit! You've got your best feature straight from Mother Nature. Now, I bet you sure look cute - Aw, honey-In your birthday suit!_

_Got so many shoes.. You got satin, you got lace. You got things from head to toe.. That make you look so hot. Don't have to pick and choose.. You don't have to shop around I don't think you really know. What you already got._

_There's one more outfit that you can't forget -One more outfit that looks great I bet!_

_I bet you sure look cute -In your birthday suit! I bet you sure look cute -In your birthday suit! You've got your best feature Straight from Mother Nature, Now, I bet you sure look cute - Aw, honey-In your birthday suit!_

_(Sure looks good, baby!)_

_Flash that smile and work that hair (aw yeah)  
Give it all you've got (Say what)  
When the photographer starts to shoot - Make sure you're wearing your birthday suit"_

The noise level was deafening as Edward saluted me, dropped the mic, and walked off the stage with Emmett and Jasper in tow. The whole stadium erupted with chants of "Bloodlust!!Bloodlust!!" People screamed their lungs out and yelled for more. The Cullen men were an instant sensation.There was a flury of questions. Some people were curious. A lot of girls made comments about trying to find the names of the guys in order to become their groupies. That was somewhat disturbing.

I waited for Edward to make his way back off the stage and through the side entrance over to me. "That brought back a lot of great memories." I grabbed him as soon as he reached me and kissed him hard. He stopped me halfway through and said "I think you might want this instead, for now..." His lips were slightly parted as they touched mine on and off, softly. He tilted his head to the side and blew his ice cool breath onto my lips before licking them, causing a tingling sensation. It was slow and careful. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling linger until Edward's tongue traced my lips and found my anxious mouth.

My eyes flew open as Emmett and Rosalie clapped and whistled. For a minute I had forgotten where I was. I was getting several death glares from girls who had made their way over to talk to Edward only to see that demonstration, and turn away, envious.

"Ok. Edward, you can pick the rewards any time you like. That was amazing!!" I said, not wanting to let him go.

"The _kiss_ or the songs?" he asked. "Both!! Actually, this whole night was perfect.!! Oh- it looks like they're ready to award the winner. I don't think the Karry Oakies are getting it this year. You'd better make your way back over to the stage." I grinned.

Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett all started making their way to leave. "We don't need bragging rights or award money, Bella, but it's up to you. We can stay or we could sneak out now and get an early start back to my house. Your choice." When he put it like that, the choice was simple.

"We all know who won. Let's go!"

_A/N: There you go. A nice long chapter for you guys to make up for the time I took off. My husband's been pretty sick and I've been having to take care of him. (and by 'take care of him' I mean in the chicken soup and nyquil way...not anything else)_

_Thanks so much to vjgm for giving me the awesome name 'Blodlust' for Edward's band. I completely loved that name the minute I saw it in your e-mail... so Thank you again! She also correctly guessed what this chapter would be about. So two hundred points to her!! YAY!! And also two hundred points to starbell for also correctly guessing!! Woo hoo!! You guys are incredible!!_

_Hey guys - If you have somehow lived under a rock and NOT read one of her stories, you need to read __Boycotts and BarFlies__ by vjgm or her other **hot** story right now (and my personal favorite) __Family Therapy Cullen Style__. She will blow your mind. Let's just say she is my favorite author on fanfic. I owe her a lot and this shout out will hopefully make up for me bugging her every ten minutes._

_Ok- I have to fill you guys in on the other reason this chapter took forever and a half to get out. I had to research a lot more than I usually do to get this chapter to be accurate. If you're like me, you can nitpick a movie or story to death with inaccuracies! I didn't want that for my story..What do I mean? Well... Chicago Ru's pizza is the **actual** name of the pizza restaurant in the town of Forks, Washington. Forks High school is also in the **Quillayute Valley school district..** not to be confused with Quileute tribe.** (It was on the admission slip for battle of the bands)** Port Angeles high school is in the town of Sappho -near Forks. The other nearby town is Bogachiel Hence- Bogachiel High School. I wanted the story to feel as real as I could make it. _

_As for the songs that the bands sang... Karry Oakies sang "**Just stop**" by Disturbed. Alibi sang "**Misery Business**" by Paramore_

_Bloodlust sang two songs. "**Hero/Heroine**" by Boys like Girls. (I've watched the video about thirty times now. I tried to remember where all the pauses in the song are for when I was writing the scene.) BTW- I absolutely flippin LOVE that song! It's on my top list right now. Please- If you don't know the song- go watch the music video for it & tell me if it isn't the most perfect song for Edward.. Wait & see- everyone will be using that song in these fanfic stories pretty soon. And you guys can say 'I remember when Tara did it first!'_

_And the second song that Bloodlust did- Their "original" song (no! sorry -I swear I **tried **, but just couldn't write an original song...you guys would've been waiting another week if I had kept going on that path) was called "**Birthday Suit**" by Johnny Kemp. Good luck finding that song anywhere. It's very obscure. From a 1989 movie called "Sing" (Another one of my favorites)_

_Well, there you have it. A nice long ass note to go with my long ass chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm sure I'll be talking to you soon. _


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I had caught my husband's illness and for a few days there, I was so sick and out of it that I might have believed I actually was Stephenie Meyer if someone would've told me I was.(I had a fever-it was bad) Of course, no one did, and now that I'm practically back to my old, healthy self again, I can't use that excuse, anymore. Window of opportunity just closed. Hence - the disclaimer.

Ch 16

Edward took my hand in his as we walked slowly back to our cars. The night had been unforgettable and I reminded myself that it wasn't over yet. Rose filled Emmett in on what the guys had missed while on-stage. She made sure to include the part about how she almost had to strong-arm a couple of girls who were ready to throw their clothes at the guys. Emmett raised his eyebrows at that, but, thankfully, was smart enough not to ask what the girls looked like. "So, were you surprised?" Alice eyed me curiously.

"Completely! 'Bloodlust' could probably cut an album right now, if they wanted to. And who knew Jasper had such a flair for the dramatic?" I joked as Jasper took a bow. I suddenly felt Eward tense up and squeeze my hand harder as he looked at Alice. "You've gotta be kidding me. Not here!" he exclaimed under his breath.

"What is it?" I didn't like the frowns on their faces. "Edward, you need to stop reading my mind all the time. That gets really annoying!! Just give me a chance to say things on my own! " Alice pouted, her mood instantly sour.

"So, tell her then, Alice!" he growled.

"Well, everything just went blank. My radar is out for the time being. And that usually means-"

"It means_ he_ is around here somewhere!" Edward spat, cutting her off. I didn't have to guess who '_he_' was. When Edward spoke in that venomous tone, it could only be one person.

I tried to remember how far back Edward had parked as we continued through the lot. Maybe, if we were lucky, we could leave before he found us. I knew it was a longshot and a temporary solution at best, but I clung to that hope. I didn't want to deal with a confrontation, tonight! I still couldn't see the volvo, but that became a moot point when everyone stopped walking, simultaneously. My heart sank as I realized we weren't getting out that easily. Nearly forty feet from us, leaning against his Rabbit in greasy jeans and a white t-shirt stood our obstacle. Edward's enemy, my best friend, and at the moment, an inconvenient delay.

"Do you want us to stick around?" Emmett asked menacingly, while cracking his knuckles.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked, in disbelief. What did he think was going to happen?

"I think we can handle this one on our own. Go home, Emmett. I'll be there in a little bit." Edward replied. I watched as Alice and Jasper reluctantly walked past us, waved, got into the Porsche, and drove away.

Rosalie grabbed Emmett by his arm and declared in a rather sexy, breathless voice "I'm already bored with this. Let's go home and you can entertain me with a private serenade." Emmett didn't need to be told twice. A night with Rose, when she was in the right mood, was the only thing more tempting to him than a competition.

Jacob kept his eyes on the sky, but watched us approach through his peripheral vision. It was hard to tell in the faint moonlight, but he seemed to be trying to calm himself. He opened and closed his fists several times and was the first to speak as we stopped in front of him.

"Leech!"

"Mutt!"

"Wow. Very mature behavior, guys!" I rolled my eyes and tried to dispell any hostility. Where was Jasper when I needed him? I turned my attention to Jake. "So, Jake - How are you? Did you come to catch the show?" I asked.

He shook his head and stared at my hand intertwined with Edward's. After a moment, he barked "I should have known!" Edward's lips curled up into a smile and he laughed under his breath.

"Should have known _what_?!" I demanded. Time was ticking. I wanted to get through with this,whatever this was, and get back to the house with Edward.

"Charlie told me you were going with a girlfriend to the Battle of the Bands. I should've known it would be with one of _them_. I just hadn't counted on_ all_ ofthem being here." he nodded his head in Edward's direction and kept talking "Charlie said maybe I could catch up with you. He also told me that you had hurt your foot and I was worried so I came to see how you were. And now I feel like an ass for believing it. You're obviously doing just fine."

Jacob met my gaze evenly. His expression was calm, but he made no attempt to conceal the pain in his eyes. He was sure I'd tricked Charlie and lied to him so that he'd felt enough pity to let me stay out with Edward until all hours of the night under the guise of needing time away with the girls. And my sweet Jacob had worried about me the whole time. I realized in horror that he wasn't very far from the truth. I was a monster. I had taken advantage of Charlie, but I'd never given any thought to Jacob. He hadn't even come into the equation. As usual, I'd been caught up in what _I_ wanted and had done what was necessary to get it.

"Jake, I'm sorry. I never meant for you to worry about me. I _did_ hurt my foot, yesterday. It's still purple in some places, but it's just not that big a deal. I hardly even notice it anymore. In fact I wasn't even gimpy for a whole day" I tried to keep the mood light, but it wasn't helping. He was busy concentrating on something.

"Yes, I'm bringing her back home with me. In fact, we were just about to leave." I heard Edward answer some unasked question as Jacob's jaw flexed. Then he turned to me, kissed my forehead and whispered "I'll give you a few minutes. The car's right back here when you're ready." He pointed to a row behind Jacob. I watched Edward walk to the volvo, climb in and start the engine.

Jacob hesitated. "Will you come to La Push tomorrow?" He was aware that Edward would hear everything, but that didn't stop him from asking. His eyes were hopeful. I shook my head. "I can't tomorrow, Jake. I've got so much studying to do after school in order to catch up before we get slammed with all the exams..."

His face contorted in pain. "The day after, then. You haven't been over in almost a week. It'd be nice to hang out together, again. Maybe somewhere other than in a parking lot, if you think you can still spare some time for me."

I sighed and counter-offered. "Three days. I promise I'll come out and visit you by Friday." I knew Edward would object, but it wasn't like I was going to stay out with Jacob all day. I couldn't go very long without missing Edward like crazy, anyway.

Jake nodded and moved a step closer to me. "Ok. By the way, you look really nice, tonight. I don't know if anyone told you that." The look in his eyes was more intense than it should have been. He reached out to me and for a spilt second I thought he was going to hug me. I heard the engine on the volvo revv as Jacob laughed and ruffled my hair, instead.

"There. Now I don't feel so underdressed and out of place. I really wish you would've called to let me know that you were ok, though. Do you honestly think I'm so out of touch that I wouldn't even ask how you were doing? Just don't forget about me Friday, ok, Bella?" his face was pleading and sad all at the same time.

"I won't forget." I assured him. I hated to see him hurt because of me. It broke my heart to know I still had that much control over him. He had called Charlie and asked about me when I hadn't gone to visit. I felt awful that I had gotten so caught up with everything else that I hardly even thought of him over the last week. The least I could do was spend a few hours with him on Friday to make it up to him.

"Bye, Bella." Jake murmured as he shot a dirty look in Edward's direction.

"See ya, Friday." I promised and smiled at him. I'd find some way to convince Edward to let me go.

I climbed in the volvo and buckled myself in as Edward wrinkled his nose. He drove with one hand and straightened out the knots in my messy hair with the other, at the same time. "There you go. And it's a miracle, but I think you avoided catching any of his fleas. You probably should still take a shower when we get back home, though."

Then Edward's eyes narrowed and he spoke loudly to make sure Jacob's super hearing would pick up. "Yes, Jake - I'm aware the saying goes "If you_ lie down_ with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas.You can stop with the visuals, now. And don't read too much into that saying. I'm taking her back home with me so where exactly do you_ think_ she'll be _lying down_ tonight?"

I heard a howl in the distance that eventually faded out as Edward gained speed and laughed. "He honestly made you feel guilty, didn't he? It doesn't surprise me that he only told you the part of the story that was convenient for him. He paces outside of your house a lot more often than you realize. He knew last night that your foot was hurt because he was there at the time. He also knew I was with you and he wanted to find some way to have, _legitimately,_ heard about the incident, so he waited until this morning to call Charlie and ask how you've been." Edward shook his head and smiled. "I have to hand it to him. He's better than I thought!"

_A/N: I know- not my longest chapter. But hey - not my shortest one either. I was very sick like I said and there were several days there where I just couldn't think well enough to write anything. Thanks for being pretty patient with me while I recovered from' the ick'! lol_

_I also had a very hard time writing the parts for Jacob for some reason. Probably because my love for Edward overshadows me getting into Jake's head too well. But I tried really hard!! This chapter is a segway into the longer one I am working on now. _

_I want to dedicate this chapter to my sister. She is the one who wanted me to find a way to work in a funny line about Jake having fleas. Lori-I hope you liked the way I did it. Oh - and you know you scared the crap out of me the other day when I thought you were seriously hurt! I am thankful that it isn't as severe as I at first thought. But I was all the way at the back part of Epcot when Dad called me that day and I think I RAN all the way to the front of the park in under ten minutes!! (It's a big ass park!!) So please - be careful and don't do that to me again. I like exercise as much as the next person, but...ya know... lol.. Love Ya!!_

_One more thing guys, I am going to finish up Edward's rewards for Bella and that will most likely be the end of this particular story. If you liked it, I will start another one as soon as this one finishes.. I've got so many ideas in my head, (and some of them are actually good -go figure) but I think in my case, it's best to only try and write one story at a time, otherwise I see myself becoming overwhelmed. (Sorry- I don't see myself being able to juggle multiple stories as well as some of you out there - but I am in awe of you that do it. More power to ya)_

_I am going to end the story with the biggest and best reward and I hope it will be as great as I want it to be!! It's something I personally hope to have the resources to do one day!! No! No hints... If you guys want to start guessing -think Big!!! Very Big!! And something that's expensive. (Don't worry- Bella will love it!) In keeping with the Big Ending - I think the points for anyone who can guess the last prize will be...Eleven Thousand points!! Because I'm coming up on Eleven Thousand hits on my story pretty soon. Thanks so much for all your support guys! _


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Still not Stephanie!! Still don't own Twilight or anything Twilight related!! Still loving every aspect of it, anyway!!

Ch 17

I sniffed at my clothes and hair. I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary, but from the looks on everyone's faces when we got back, _they _sure could. "What smells like wet dog?" I heard Esme ask as she came around the corner to face Edward and I.

Jasper, Alice, and Edward all pointed at me. "Oh...hi, Bella." she said in her matronly voice.

I raised my hand. "Sorry. That would be me. I am going to take a shower right now and wash the 'eau de mutt' away."

"Thank you." Jasper said in fake mocking. He picked up a clothes pin from the day's laundry and clamped it over his nose as Alice held her hand to her mouth, trying hard not to laugh.

Rosalie and Emmett emerged from upstairs, smiling and temporarily, completely absorbed in each other. Of course, Rose's smile quickly turned into a snarl when she caught the scent and saw Jasper. She strode across the room and promptly smacked the clothes pin off of Jasper's face. "Oh no you don't!! If I have to suffer, so do you!" She folded her arms over her chest, looked smug and didn't bother coming to Jasper's aid while he dramatically clutched at his throat as if suffocating. Alice fell onto the floor, not able to suppress the laughter anymore. In another life, I could've easily seen Jasper working as some cheesy 'D-list' comedian.

And I was that unfortunate idiot who'd sat in the front row at one of his shows, only to be the butt of the jokes.

Rose smirked slightly when Jasper found a solution to their mutual problem. He sat up and handed her a second clothes pin that he had just conveniently found. Emmett joined Alice on the floor in hysterics as Rose and Jasper both clamped their noses shut.

"Fine!! I get the point. I'm going...Hmph!" I stuck my lip out, but couldn't pretend to be angry for more than a few seconds before I broke out in a non-stop case of the giggles and stamped my feet all the way up the stairs as I made my grand exit to the bathroom. Edward beat me there, and stood in front of the door, holding a towel out to me. I couldn't help but laugh. I was in a great mood and only part of it had to do with Jasper sending waves of hysterics through the house.

"You know, the..._hiccup_... funny thing..._hiccup_... is that none of you need to breathe, Edward. They could've..._hiccup_... just each held their breath for a few minutes."

"True, but it wouldn't have been as funny. Speaking of holding your breath. If you do that for about thirty seconds, your hiccups will go away." Edward walked cautiously around me, over to the enormous shower and pressed a raised button on the outside wall to turn the water on. There was enough room inside to easily accomodate six people. I marveled at the way the water streams came from all sides of the shower itself. It was definitely the most elaborate shower I'd ever seen. Edward stepped back to let the water heat up while he found his way back over to me and decided to nuzzle my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

It was then that the idea hit me. "Edward, will you unzip me, please? I have a hard time maneuvering the top of this dress in the back." I turned my back to him, pulled my hair up to expose my neck and shoulder, and waited while I held my breath. I hoped maybe if he couldn't see my face, he would believe it was an innocent request. No such luck!

"Bella...That's not wise. I don't think I can..." I felt Edward pull away after a second and step back to add some distance between us.

"Sure you can, Edward. It's not that difficult. You just unbutton that little button that's at the top first. Then you'll find a small zipper right under there." I didn't mention how far down the zipper actually ran.

"How exactly did you get into this when you put it on this morning?" he asked, suspiciously, still not moving any closer to me.

I sighed. "I had to have Rose help me. And she is kind of rough. Besides, I think she is sort of repulsed by the way I smell right now." Edward still couldn't see my face, so I allowed myself a tiny smile at the quick thinking on that rebuttal.

"Ok. I'll get Alice to come in here and help you then-"

"Edward!! You are already right here!! What's the big deal? I'm not asking you to get me naked and climb into that shower with me. I just need a little help. Don't you trust yourself? I mean, _jeez_ - even Charlie has helped me with little snags like this over the years. It's only one button and a zipper. You're the one making it something more than that."

"Then why are you still holding your breath?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

"I was holding my breath in between talking to make sure my hiccups were finally gone. It was _your_ idea, remember?" I grumbled. "So... what's the verdict? Am I stuck like this or will you help me? My arm is getting tired from holding my hair up out of the way."

"Dammit...!!Ok, but don't move, Bella. I mean it!!! I'll help you, but no sudden movements! And don't even _think_ of dropping your clothes to the floor until I leave this room. Got it?!" I could hear the indecision in his voice and knew I'd have to do what he asked or he would change his mind about the whole thing and send Alice in.

"Fine, Edward. I promise not to disrobe in front of you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to take that shower sometime _tonight_..." I trailed off but briefly raised my arm higher to indicate that I was still holding my hair out of the way for him.

I felt Edward's hand travel gently down my neck and stop at the single button. He hesitated and exhaled loudly as he popped the button out of the slit of the eyelet button hole. "Thank you, Edward." I murmured, holding perfectly still. "Now, just go ahead and unzip it for me."

He moved closer to me and I knew there was very little space between us as I felt his cool breath on my neck. He held the zipper gently between his index finger and his thumb and ever so slowly began to unzip my dress. His other three fingers lightly caressed my bare skin in a straight line down my back as he unzipped. His excrutiatingly slow motion was deliciously tempting. The sensation was one of the most frustrating and also the most senual that I'd ever felt in my life. He stopped for a minute as the partially open dress gave way to reveal my red, 'Secret Embrace' bra strap that was sticking out, underneath. I purred as his fingers curiously brushed over it.

"Mmmmmm. Yes...Keep going." I whispered.

"No. I'm pretty sure we're both liking this a lot more than we should be..." he paused but still held the zipper.

"Take it off, already!!!" came a yell from outside the door. Then "_OUCH!!!_ Why did you slap me, Rose?! You know I was only kidding. You've got to learn to loosen up a lit- OK, OK!! I'm leaving!"

"Edward, as promised, I haven't moved at all. Will you please finish helping me?" I let my hair fall and cascade over my back and shoulders and held my dress against me in the front.

I noticed the precise movement of the zipper again and the feeling of sweet misery returned. Everything in my body screamed for me to move. To do... _something_!! I wanted more and he was so close...

His hand brushed all the way down my lower back and kept going, until the zipper had reached the end of it's line. I gasped and Edward took a ragged breath as we both realized that he had exposed half of my scalloped, lacy, Rio thong and his cold hand was on my ass.

He dropped his hand but didn't move away. I let him take it in for a minute. "Bella..." he moaned.

"I'm going to turn around now, Edward." I warned and turned slowly to face him, still clinging to my dress. He had made me promise that I would wait until he left the room and I intended to keep my promise. Edward looked as frustrated as I felt. His breathing was irregular.

"What are you trying to do to me? You are taking advantage of my limited self control and besides - I seriously doubt Charlie helps you do _that_!!" I could tell he was fighting to keep his hands at his side. He closed his eyes.

I chuckled. "Charlie helps me get the zipper started sometimes, but he obviously never unzips more than an inch down before he leaves. I just wanted to see what that would be like."

"And what - you just always wear super sexy underwear like that?"

"Sometimes." I lied. I'd never worn them before that night. "Rose said it's important to have some good Victoria's Secret items in my wardrobe." That part was true. She had insisted on buying them while we browsed the Victoria's Secret in the mall last month. The cashier remembered Rose and didn't look surprised when she whipped out her Preferred customer card.

Edward's eyes were still closed. I wondered if the image had been burned in, already, and if he had tried to picture the total look. I was thrilled that I'd had this strong of an affect on him. It was good to know he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

"I'm sure the water is already hot. Since our bodies run so cold, we like it extremely hot! Ahem...Ok...forget I just said that! All I meant is - you might need to adjust it a little, though."

"Oh, I plan on turning the heat way down. In fact, a cold shower is just what I need right now. So, when I'm done with my shower, should I meet you in your bedroom?" I asked sweetly.

"No. I need to calm down a little, too, so when you're done with your shower, meet me back downstairs." Edward's frustration eased a little as he laughed. "Oh! You'll love this. My obnoxious siblings are already playing one of our favorite games and from what I can hear, Emmett is losing. You have to watch what we do to the loser of the game. The girls have been on a winning streak and have had a lot of opportunity to gotten very creative with their torturing devices."

When he closed the door, I stepped out of my clothes and into the shower. I immediately lowered the temperature and after about five minutes, began to feel a little better. Cool water was supposed to be the best to wash your hair in, too, I remembered. About five minutes later, I turned the water off, and heard the gentle click of the bathroom door closing behind me.

"Edward? Was that you?" I called out. No response. Finally, my eyes settled on something that hadn't been in the room a minute ago. Sitting on a chair next to the shower was a pair of royal blue, lace, babydoll cami and boy shorts pajamas. There were perfectly cute and also appropriate for a night with the family. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, threw on the pajamas, and headed back downstairs.

The scene in front of me was too crazy to be believed. There they all were in the middle of the floor, on the brightly colored mat with huge circles. Even Esme and Carlisle were twisted into various pretzel like shapes.

"What in the world is going on. here?!" I asked, rhetorically.

"It's a great game of dexterity, Bella and perfectly fun for the whole family, when played with all your clothes on,... Right, Rosalie?!" Emmett asked and winked. I saw Edward grimace as he spun the dial. Jasper and Alice were already contorted around Carlisle and Esme was leaning heavily onto Emmett, trying to force him to fall to the ground first. Rose had the most breathing room of all of them.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Emmett. I _know_ what Twister is. I'm just surprised to see all of you playing it at... Ten oclock at night!" I said after confirming the time on my watch.

"We have to find something to do while the rest of the world sleeps. I came in too late to play this time, so I'm spinning. This is one of the few games we can play with Alice where she can't cheat. She doesn't have any way of foreseeing the future with this game, because I don't know what the spinner is going to land on and no one is setting up any strategies or planning ahead. Anyway- we always play as teams. Right now it's guys against the girls. First person down, loses it for their entire team. Esme is doing really well. Always does. She is surprisingly good at this game." Edward explained it all to me as I sat down next to him and watched curiously.

"What, you didn't think us _old folks_ could bend as well as you or what?" she feigned a hurt tone. It wasn't as if she was that much older.

"Right foot - Blue, Emmett!!" Edward barked, conveniently ignoring her question.

Emmett looked around and whined. "But there aren't any blue spots near me. Esme is taking up that one and Rose has the other close one under her left hand. The only other one I see is all the way over there." He nodded his head and looked at a blue circle that was just out of reach, even for his long legs.

"Just go for it, Emmett!! You have to try or else we forfeit. Those are the rules!!" Jasper yelled out. He was practically in a backbend, himself.

Emmett cursed, raised his right leg, and held it steady as he stretched. I thought I saw Esme lean a little more onto Emmett as he reached for his spot, but I couldn't be positive. The only thing I knew for sure was that Emmett still couldn't reach but that he apparently _COULD_ do the splits.

"AHA!!" Alice yelled. "We win!!! Emmett is on the floor."

Emmett threw his hands in the air and yelled in defeat as he stood up. "No fair!! Aw..Crap!!!!"

"YES!!!" came the response from Rose, Alice, Esme and Jasper.

"Jasper!! What the hell?! You're on _MY_ team?!" Emmett fumed.

"Yeah, but I'm ok with living in shame on the losing team. At least I know I'm not the one who lost it for us, this time. You'll have to suffer the girl's humiliation. I don't think I could go through that again, right now." He shivered as he thought of some horrible memory.

"Get ready for your three minutes of hell, Emmett!!" Alice gloated as she pulled Rose and Esme into a huddle with her to decide his fate.

Jasper patted Emmett's shoulder and whispered "Good luck. At least you know it can't possibly be as bad as when they made me do "Barbie Girl"!!"

"We've decided!! It will be 'Bubbly' by Colby Caillat! This should be great!" Esme grinned.

Emmett's face lit up."Ok. No problem. I know that song. I actually like it, too!"

The girls scowled. Apparently it was difficult to find something shameful enough to embarass Emmett. I thought I understood what was going on, but I wanted to be sure.

"Is the idea to make Emmett sing to a song that might cause him some discomfort and embarassment?" I asked.

"Not just singing the song, but acting out the whole video for that song, complete with proper choreography. Why? You got something better?!" Rose asked.

"I think so. Have you guys ever heard the song 'Ms. New Booty' by The Ying Yang Twins?!" I smiled mischievously.

"Yes!" said Rose, Alice, and Jasper. "No!" said Emmett, Edward, Carlisle, and Esme.

"It's perfect!! Trust me!" I added

"Ok, Emmett. You know the rules. Go look up the video and watch it! You have five minutes to prepare!" Alice commanded.

Five minutes later, Emmett emerged to find us already in our viewing positions on the couches. "I wish I had popcorn." I whispered to Edward and we laughed quietly as Alice and Jasper shushed us.

Emmett pouted. "I don't think Bella should get to choose the songs, anymore. She didn't even play in the game with us."

"Oh, you must've done really well, Bella." Esme smiled and clapped her hands. "Emmett, the girls have decided. Now are you ready - because we're waiting to be entertained."

Emmett grumbled very much against his will, and hit 'play' for the new song he had just downloaded.

_"Booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin' everywhere Rockin' everywhere ... Rockin' everywhere!_

_I found you MS NEW BOOTY Get it together and bring it back to me Hit the players club for about month or two Put his hand on it then see what he do.._

_Get it ripe, get it right, get it tight!..."_

Emmett danced exactly like the girls in the video did, complete with drops and ass jiggling. If vampires could've blushed, I'm sure Emmett's face would've been a deep scarlet. The dances were obviously choreographed with females in mind. When the song ended, we all stood up and clapped.

"Ok - maybe that was a little worse than 'Barbie Girl' " Jasper conceded.

A/N: Yes- I know.. I didn't get to the next chapter of Bella's reading assignment or her next reward. I just wanted to throw this bit of nonsense in here to show that the vampires can have family game nights and fun just like everyone else.. Hehe.. ok- maybe not JUST like everyone else.. But didn't you guys ever wonder what the Cullens must do when everyone else sleeps?? Obviously it can't be just sex 24/7... So yeah - enjoy the little detour!! Next chapter will start with them being in Edward's room & Bella reading ahead so Edward can give her the next reward tomorrow after school. I promise you guys will like it. And -I have to give props to my daughter for suggesting the "Ms. New Booty" song to have Emmett dance to. Imagine if you will, a fourteen year old girl who is kind of a combination of goth and punk suggesting this song for Emmett to dance and sing to... Way to go, Hil.

Hey guys - none of you are even close yet for guessing the big reward at the end.. I have to say that I've seen some really weird and imaginative things coming through in the private messages, though..Some of it had me cracking up.. Some of it had me shaking my head... And BTW - I am well over the eleven thousand hits, now!!! It's a dream come true!! Imagine there's a big wrapped

Edward-shaped Christmas present under all of your Christmas trees from me. Enjoy!!!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns twilight. I own the nicest looking decorated house on the block. That's all I got for now.

Ch 18

I sat on Edward's bed and waited impatiently for him while he changed into something more comfortable. _Is this how he feels when I need my 'human moments' back at home?_ I wondered. I knew that technically he wouldn't be 'sleeping' but he told me he had picked up some comfortable night clothes so that I could be warm enough while I laid next to him, tonight.

The idea was so thoughtful and sweet that I almost felt bad for secretly wishing he would just come out in nothing but his boxers. I was pleasantly surprised when Edward emerged from the bathroom. He wasn't in boxers, but the 'Tartan-plaid-pajamas-with-bare-feet' look really worked for him and nicely accentuated all of his positives.

The solid red flannel t-shirt and full length plaid pants was a classic pajama style, but with his perfectly chiseled body, he ended up looking like model material in it.

"So.. what do you think? Do you like the color?" he asked, hinting at something.

I realized I'd never actually told him that red was my favorite color on him. "Yes. I love it. The question is - How did you know I'd like it in red?" I had a bad feeling I already knew the answer. My cheeks started to feel a little warm.

"You told Rose." he said, a big grin on his face.

"I don't remember that conversation." I retorted.

"Well, that's probably because it was very early this morning while you were still asleep. And thank you for saying I'm ... what was that word, again...? _Smexy_?!?!... in red??" he laughed, softly.

I groaned and covered my face with his pillow. It was coming back to me now. I remembered waking up to Rose shaking me this morning and thinking she was Edward after I'd had a very vivid dream about him. How embarassing. I prayed that I hadn't said anything else, incriminating.

Edward climbed into bed with me and pulled the covers up over us as I snuggled close to him. His body wasnt generating any heat, but the flannel pajamas were a thick enough material that my body was able to warm it within a couple minutes.

"Edward, I can't fall asleep yet? Do you mind if I do something, instead?" I asked

I felt him tense up and knew where his mind must have gone.

"Bella, I think if you start that with me right now, I won't be able to control myself. And I'd rather not have to get out of bed with you, just now because I'm very comfortable like this. Do you think you can _try_ to be good for one night?" his eyes pleaded.

"All I meant was, would you mind if I read ahead a little? I want to read the next chapter and get ready to win my next reward if that's ok with you." He looked shocked at my request. He had obviously anticipated something else. It was difficult, but I realized that I could pretend to be well behaved when I really wanted to.

He nodded his head while I hopped out of bed and picked up his book from on top of the dresser. Then I quickly climbed back in bed and moved as close to him as I could, trying to regenerate the heat I had lost. He held me while I read chapter four of the book I had become so enamored with.

The next chapter was so captivating that I finished it in less than a half hour. I had mostly read the dialogue and skimmed over some of the more elaborate details. It was a bad habit of mine that I hoped wouldn't come back to bite me.

I didn't have a bookmark and noticed that Edward wasn't marking the pages, so I just closed the book and laid it across me on the bed.

"Finished? That was quick." he noted, raising his eyebrows. He took the book from me and let it drop on the floor next to his side of the bed. It was out of my reach, now.

"Well, what can I say. Once I got going with the chapter, I just couldn't stop." I smiled triumphantly. "Do you already have a question in mind for me or do you want me to wait until tomorrow to give you time to think of one?" I asked.

"I have a very good memory. Do you? I haven't read that book in over five years, but I remember it like it was yesterday and I am prepared with a question right now. You can't refer back to the book for help. And if you get this right, you will obviously have to wait until tomorrow to claim your reward. Do you accept these conditions?" he asked playfully.

"Yes! Do your worst!" I answered, confidently. I had understood the chapter perfectly, even if I hadn't focused on the smaller details.

"Ok, then. It is a two-part question. As Kino goes to leave, he is offered a final amount for his pearl. It is still too low, so he turns the amount down. What amount was he offered for his pearl? That is the first part. The second part to the question is this - Where does Kino plan on going with his pearl the following day?" Edward stared at me, knowingly. My bad habit had definitely come back to haunt me.

I had skimmed over the part where Kino was low-balled. I had no idea what the final offer had been. Damn!! Was Edward punishing me for not reading the story like I should have? I wish I'd taken more time with it. I was going to have to guess. At least I knew the answer to the second half of the question. I decided to answer that part first, hoping my mind would somehow channel the answer to the other part as I went along! Maybe it was buried somewhere deep in my subconcious.

I took a deep breath and tried to look confident, even though I was sweating bullets. "Ok,... Kino decides that he will just take the pearl with him to the capital the next day." That was the easy part. My mind still hadn't come up with the rest of the answer.

"Yes. That part was easy..." Edward said as if he'd read my mind. "What about the first part? How much money did he turn down before he went home?"

I scowled and tried to picture the page it had been on. I answered with the only amount that kept coming to mind and hoped there was a reason I kept seeing the amount. "I think it was one thousand pesos."

I knew immediately that I'd gotten it wrong, because Edward's face fell and he sighed. "No, that's not right, Bella. I had a feeling you were just skimming over the chapter instead of really reading it. One thousand pesos was the _starting_ offer..."

_Oh..._That's why it had stuck out. "The final offer was fifteen hundred pesos. I'm sorry." I was ready to cry.

"So, since you were partially wrong, I will have to take something away from the reward. You will still get part of the reward for getting the second half correct. I think that is fair. And I think you will still enjoy yourself."

I nodded my head as the tears welled up. I tried not to think of what wonderful part of the prize I would be giving up.

_A/N: I know - a short chapter...and I left you hanging, too...I'm so bad...lol...but I wanted to get this out before Christmas and I will still try to get the next part - where he rewards her - out to you before Christmas, too, but no promises. It's gonna get hectic around here, soon. Don't worry- her prize will be fun!! But Bella will be a little frustrated when she finds out what she ALMOST won... you'll just have to wait and see. Darn her for missing the other part of that question...It will be good!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and enjoys this time with family. I know I will. Oh- two of my devoted readers are very close to guessing the final reward.. You guys are finally thinking along the right lines! Great job. If you guys can just narrow it down a little more, I will be able to give you the recognition for it. I don't want to do it just yet, though...Keep working on it. I'm giving everyone a chance. And everyone else- there is still time if you are enjoying guessing. I love some of your wacky ideas! You guys crack me up and really make my day! Thanks!! I love you all..I know I say that all the time - but it's true._


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I asked Santa if I could be Stephenie Meyer for Christmas... He told me no!! LOL Merry Belated Christmas to everyone anyway! Hope you enjoy the long chapter. Sorry I couldn't get it out sooner.

Ch 19

Waking up to Edward's soft voice was the best alarm clock in the world. "Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?" he asked. _I could get used to this_, I thought as I drowned in his golden eyes. He had stayed in bed with me all night.

"Wonderfully." I purred and ran my hands across Edward's chest."Do we have to get up so soon? Can't we just stay in bed for a few more minutes?"

He kissed the top of my head and pulled my hands off of his chest, and held them. "Not unless you want to be late."

"I don't mind being a little late to school every now and then. In fact, I don't mind skipping school all together on certain days." I replied, trying to reach out from under his grasp to touch him again.

He laughed. "You say that now, but I bet you _would_ mind when you failed your classes. And I'm not going to let that happen to you. Besides, the sooner we get going, the sooner it will be over and you can claim your reward. Go ahead and take the bathroom. I'll get changed out here and be ready before you come back out."

"Oh crap!" I shreiked as a realization dawned on me. "I didn't bring a change of clothes because I didn't know that I'd be staying the night. I'll have to wear my clothes from yesterday. Ugh!!"

"Bella, have you met my sisters?! Do you honestly think Alice would let that happen? If I know her, she already has everything you need waiting for you in there." Edward pushed the covers down off of us and nodded in the direction of the bathroom before reaching out to pat my rear end when I stood up.

I couldn't resist as I walked away. "Not quite as fun as the last time you touched it, huh, Edward?" He smiled a crooked grin and simply replied "Meet me downstairs when you're done. Hurry up -I miss you already."

Sitting on the same chair in the bathroom where the pajamas had been last night, was a brand new outfit, courtesy of Alice. The soft brown peasant top and jean skirt fit like a glove and was very fashionable. She really had an eye for that sort of thing. She was amazing! They _all_ were!! I knew I'd never be able to fully repay his family for everything they had done for me, but I vowed I would spend the rest of my existence, trying. They had taken me in and were prepared to accept me as a part of their family, regardless of the consequences. They had given me my life - They had given me Edward.

I brushed my teeth and combed through my hair, leaving it down, then headed downstairs where Edward waited for me in a plain white T-shirt and jeans. Even in his casual state, he still managed to look breathtakingly exotic. He held a bag of croissants out to me.

I finished eating while Edward drove us to school, and then I called Charlie to let him know I was alive and well. I wished him a good day at work and reminded him that I would be home late tonight because I needed extra time to study and research. Before I could hang up, Charlie started on the subject I was trying to avoid. "I hope you don't mind, but Jacob asked about you yesterday and I told him you would be out with Alice last night. Did he end up finding you?"

"Yes, he found us, all right." I said , a slight edge to my voice. I thought I saw Edward flinch.

"Oh, good. So, did you have fun, then?" Charlie's voice took on that overly-hopeful tone that it always did when he talked about Jake.

I tried to read Edward's body language, but he sat perfectly still, and kept his face even. I knew he was listening to both ends of the conversation. I reached over and pulled his hand in mine, looked deep into his eyes and tried to convey as much emotion to him as I could, when I answered Charlie.

"Last night was incredible and I had a wonderful time!! It was just what I needed! " I smiled as Edward caught my meaning and brought my hand to his lips and kissed me.

"Glad to hear it!! See!! I was hoping that would help you realize what I've been trying to tell you, all along. Spending time out with some friends is good for you. It's healthy! Much more healthy than limiting yourself to just one person. Maybe you can try to make time to do things like that more often..??"

I rolled my eyes, but decided that maybe I could make it work for me. "Yes, I think you might have a point. In fact, maybe I could try to make that a regular thing..."

Edward's smile was contagious. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he moved in closer and started nuzzling my neck and ear in a playful way. For some reason, it tickled me almost to the point of insanity. I was on the edge of bursting and he knew it. I tried not to lose it with Charlie on the phone, and blurted "Oh, shoot!! Dad - I have to go now, so we're not late!! Classes are about to start."

"Ok, honey. See you later. Have fun and tell Alice I said -" I hung up the phone before he had a chance to finish and felt a rush of relief as I let out the laugh I had been holding in. So, Charlie thought I'd gotten a ride to school with Alice. I felt a little bad for letting him believe that, but I justified it in my mind by thinking it was his own fault for assuming things. He hadn't come right out and asked me who I was with and I had decided not to volunteer any further info, that's all.

We caught up with Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett and barely made it to literature class as the bell rang. "Hey, Alice...Charlie says hi." I whispered before we were rushed to take our seats on opposite ends of the room.

The teacher decided it was time to talk about the obvious symbolism in the book, 'The Pearl'. I was ecstatic to find that I actually had a pretty good grasp on the discussion and even had a few opinions of my own. I decided to raise my hand and join in a few times, much to Edward's enjoyment. His eyes lit up each time I correctly answered a question or raised an idea that sparked new debates.

The rest of the school day went by in a blur. Most of the students were clearly frantic with exams coming up at the end of the week. It seemed that everyone was lost in their own personal hell. The lack of energy and socializing was never more apparent. Their nerves had gotten the better of some people. Entire lunch trays of food that were hardly touched, were being thrown away. _What a difference a day makes_, I thought. It was easy to spot the students who were failing. They had a crazed, feral-like appearance and mumbled to themselves, incoherently, as they flipped through books and notes, trying to cram the entire semester's worth of work into the next couple days.

When the final period bell rang, signaling my freedom for another day, I was the first person to make my escape from the confines of the classroom. Edward intercepted me as I ran to meet him. I hadn't even made it halfway to his classroom when he reached me, picked me up, spun me around, and lightly kissed my lips before setting me back on my feet.

"Edward, some of these people are so tightly wound, you could put a lump of coal up their asses and pull out a diamond...!! And we still have another two days until exams. I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better. I am so ready to get the hell out of here!"

He laughed. "Agreed! Let's get everyone else and we can go!" His face turned serious for a minute as the rest of the Cullen's caught up to us and he continued." Bella, I think you'll like this reward, if you can keep an open mind. However, I am going to ask you to take a leap of faith, today. Do you trust me?!"

"With my life!" I answered, honestly.

"Ironic choice of words." Edward muttered and then looked at Alice and shook his head no. I watched her frown and hide a box behind her back again as she looked quickly at me and then back at Edward.

"Well, I just thought I'd bring it in case you change your mind, later." she whispered in her small voice.

"Alice, do you _see _me changing my mind?" he glared at her.

"Not in the near future. But you never know..." she said sadly and glanced at me again.

I understood what was going on and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed right along with Alice. The box obviously held what would have been the second part of my reward. I tried to put it out of my mind. I wanted to focus on what I would still receive from Edward. His gifts had been wonderful so far and I was certain he wouldn't let me down.

We dropped our individual cars off with Carlisle and gratefully traded out for the keys to his new 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 450. It had enough seating room for all six of us and was extremely fun for off roading. Or so Emmett told me. I still had no idea where we were going and no one was spilling the beans, for fear of facing Edward's wrath.

After almost forty minutes of twists and turns, Emmett pulled off onto Highway 113 and I realized I was completely lost. I'd never been to this area before. I looked curiously at Edward who simply said "Yes. We're almost there. We just need to find a good parking area. How about over there, Emmett?"

I couldn't see anything except a wide expanse of trees all around in the direction where Edward pointed. I shook off the sudden thought that they were going to make me hike to get to wherever we were going. Edward knew how much I hated that. And yet, I was a little concerned because he _did_ ask me to keep an open mind.

Finally, Emmett parked the SUV and the engine stopped humming as everyone climbed out. "Welcome to Beaver Lake Park, Bella." Edward said as he grinned and led the way up a trail.

"Edward, am I going to be hiking?" I put my hands on my hips and tapped my foot to make sure he knew I would be annoyed at the prospect.

"No. You're just going to have to walk for a minute or so. I am promising you something truly beautiful at the end. That is - if you can stop throwing a fit long enough to get to it. Do you think you can handle it?"

I felt foolish and a little embarassed at my selfish outburst and humbly apologized. "I'm sorry. Of course I'm up for whatever you have planned." I gave him my most genuine smile in my attempt to make peace. I didn't want to lose whatever remained of my reward. But mostly, I just couldn't stand to upset Edward.

Rosalie led the way with Emmett following hot on her trail. Jasper walked at a slower pace behind them and kept motioning for Alice to catch up and join him. Edward and I followed Jasper as Alice brought up the rear, not bothering to catch up to Jasper. I thought I could see the mystery box sticking out from behind her back again as she hummed to herself and skipped along.

We walked another three hundred feet until I noticed a narrow space where the trees gave way to a clearing and in the midst of it all was a pristine, circular lake. The view took my breath away. The natural beauty of the lake with the flowers and trees lining all around it, was one of the most impressive sights I'd ever seen. If it hadn't been for the few scattered picnic benches that lined the beach, I would've believed that man had never set foot here. It was perfectly preserved and secluded.

My breath caught in my throat. "Oh, Edward..." He smiled warmly at me, then put one arm around my waist as he gestured to the opposite bank where two graceful birds had entered the water, causing little ripples on the lake. Their black bills and faces made a dramatic contrast to their otherwise snow white bodies.

"Look!! Those are the trumpeter swans. Their largest population nests in Alaska, but a few couples still come here every year in November when they make their migration south. Can you believe at one point in time, those majestic creatures had almost gone extinct because idiots hunted them for their feathers to make quills? Even now, a lot of them in this region are dying out because of lead poisoning. The trumpeter swans could teach humanity a thing or two. They are the embodiment of grace and unspoiled wildness. They also choose one mate for life and are loyal to the end. If something happens to one mate, the widowed bird will live out the remainder of it's life alone."

I detected a note of reverie in Edward's voice and found his story charming and a little melancholy at the same time. "They're beautiful." I exclaimed, not knowing what else to say. I watched the two birds swimming fluidly together and wrapping their long necks around each other at times. They were oblivious to everyone and everything else while they were in their embrace of sorts. It was exactly how it should be with a perfect mate, I thought ironically.

I turned to face Edward and kissed his lips softly as I looked up at his face. "Thank you for bringing me here. This place is enchanting! It's so peaceful and refreshing."

I looked to Alice and Rosalie who also stared at the birds with admiration on their faces. Then both girls seemed to simultaneously snap out of their dreamlike states and started removing their clothing. I was shocked and a little worried for a split second, until I noticed they both had bathing suits on under their clothes. Alice stripped down to a pale pink tankini, which looked exquisite on her. Rosalie, of course went for a bolder look. She sported a tiny, red, side-tie bikini which was amazingly skimpy and sexy with her pale skin and blond hair. I turned my head when it was the guys turn to strip.

Jasper wore an army green pair of stone-washed board shorts and Emmett made Rosalie proud with his black and yellow form-fitting swim-team style trunks that showed a lot more skin and left little to the imagination. As impressive as each of them looked, I gasped when I noticed Edward in a black and white pair of Hugo Boss surfing trunks that gave him a kind of sexy lifeguard look. I stared open mouthed until he laughed at me and I became self conscious as I realized I was the only one still in my clothes. Again I was caught unprepared for the occasion.

I hadn't gone back into the water since my near drowning experience at La Push. I had been to the beach a few times after that with Angela, but I always either stayed just barely at the water's edge or away from the water all together. I was perfectly satisfied to work on my pathetic tan while watching Edward swim, but apparently he had other plans for me.

As he nodded, Alice walked over to me and handed me a bag with a dark blue one-piece suit in it. I frowned and looked at the thing as it hung limply in my hand.

Edward noticed my long face and spoke encouragingly to me. "It's my fault that you're afraid of the water, now. If I hadn't left, you never would have..." He winced at the painful memory, then went on. "Well, I'm going to give you your confidence back and show you something else my family does for fun. I told you this would require a leap of faith on your part, but you said earlier that you trusted me with your life. If it's still true, then please, join me and let me show you how exhilerating it can be."

I exhaled sharply. "There are a few problems, besides me being afraid, Edward. One. It's probably too cold to go swimming this late in the season. I'll catch a cold. Two. I can't exactly strip down into my suit, now can I? Three. Maybe we shouldn't go in the water because we might disturb the swans -"

Edward cut through all my excuses. "One!This is a freshwater lake with an unusually warm stream. The water never gets very cold here, even in the dead of winter. This is probably the last chance we will have to do this for a long time because a cold front is coming in tomorrow. Two! You don't need to get changed in front of everyone. There is a small bathroom right up there..." he motioned to the top of the forest where we parked, and number Three! The birds are clear across the lake and we have no intention of going close enough to them to disturb them."

He looked deep into my eyes and gave me a dazzling smile that melted me as he whispered. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

I swallowed hard and nodded my head. How could I deny him anything when he looked at me like that?

I changed into my suit in the tiny two stall bathroom, threw my clothes into the bag, and walked slowly back to my doom. They hadn't moved since I went to change. Everyone was waiting on me, apparently.

There was a chorus of "Wow's" as I sauntered barefoot through the sand. Edward looked me up and down before breaking into an evil grin. "_Niiiice!!_" he said in sexy, drawn-out tone. I had to admit, the plunging neckline and cut-out hips of the suit looked great on me. I was considering just letting Alice pick out all of my clothing for me from now on. She really knew what kind of styles flattered my body.

Tired of waiting, Rosalie broke away and ran for the water, first, followed closely by Emmett. "Wait for me, Rose!!"

"Come on, Bella." Alice yelled and took off to join them. Jasper was faster and dove into the water before Alice could get there. She splashed him when he resurfaced and he spit water at her. They were too perfect for each other.

Edward scooped me up into his arms and asked "Ready?"

"Ok" I said summoning up as much courage as I could muster.

The water was warm, and soothing, like Edward promised. I started to feel at ease with Edward's strong arms holding me as we ventured deeper out into the lake near everyone else. Rose and Emmett were already entwined around each other, kissing passionately. Jasper moved in closer and pulled Alice to him, while asking Emmett "So, are you guys up for a game?" His eyes flashed playfully.

"I don't know. Are you two ready to lose again?" Emmett countered in a cocky voice.

"Bring it on!" Alice jeered. Both Jasper and Emmett pushed away from their respective partners, took a breath and dove underwater. A second later, Rose and Alice were both being hoisted several feet out of the water on their men's shoulders.

Emmett and Jasper apparently weren't allowed to contact one another, leaving the girls to wrestle in an attempt to knock each other off their mounts.

Almost immediately, Edward and I started getting pelted by blinding sprays of water. I felt completely comfortable in the water as Edward and I swam together, trying to avoid the streams of water that would occasionally slam into us. I laughed hysterically as Rose finally knocked Alice over and Jasper toppled into the water with her. Emmett jumped up and down, still holding Rosalie on his shoulders. "Yes!! Undefeated chicken fight champs!!" he gloated.

"Is there anyone worthy of challenging _'Teamo Supremo'_?'" Emmett asked and puffed out his chest as Edward and I both rolled our eyes at their obnoxious self appointed title.

"He needs to get taken down a notch. Do you wanta help me?" Edward asked me, his voice hopeful.

"Sure. But I haven't played this before and Rose might be a litle more agile than me. Not to mention abotu a hundred times stronger."

Edward laughed and pushed my wet hair back out of my face. "It doesn't always have to do with being strong. It has more to do with knowing your opponent's weaknesses and having a good strategy to catch them unaware. Besides, this game can also be a nice aphrodisiac."

"How so?" I asked, suddenly very interested. He was speaking my language.

"Open your legs wide, and don't be startled when I come up from underneath you. Try to hold still until I've got a good hold on you."

"Like this?" I asked, taking a wide stance.

"A little more...YES!!! Hold that. It's perfect!"

Edward gave me a mischevious smile and sucked in a deep breath before plunging down into the water. I started to get worreid when noting happened. Then, a minute or so later, I felt his hands slide slowly from my ankles up to my knees. I gasped as he kept working his way along, his hands running up my thighs and lingering longer than I was sure was necessary to get into position. My face turned red and I tried not to look at the rest of his family. I wondered if they could tell how turned on I suddenly was. Jasper probably did, I realized. Next thing I knew, I was lifted several feet into the air and I sat perched on Edward's broad shoulders.

"Whoa!!!" I shouted, as I realized how high up I was.

"This should be easy." Rose sneered as she and Emmett lunged forward, toward us.

Edward tightened his grip around my legs and said, "Remember what I told you about how to win..."

A/N: No -It didn't really end, did it? You'll just have to wait and see what happens with their water chicken game in the next chapter...I could've finished it, but it is 1 am and I have to get up and go to work soon...so ...cliffhanger instead. Be nice to me guys. I worked hard to get this much out to you. And yes- the Lake he took her to exists and it is absolutely gorgeous. And the swans do go there in November. Basically everything I told you about the lake is accurate - down to the Highway it is on!! I love research!! hehe.

What do you guys think? Will Bella and Edward be able to beat Rose and Emmett? BTW- 'Teamo Supremo' is the name my husband always chooses for us whenever we compete at anything. Either that or 'Team efficiency' .. lol.. So, anyone still wondering what is in that box that Alice has?? Poor Bella!! I hate to deny this to her because if I was her, I would definitely want it, but hey - that's how it goes sometimes. At least she will learn her lesson and make sure to study properly from now on.. hehe.. I know.. I'm evil sometimes. I love you guys and hope everyone had a great Christmas!!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: The very fact that I still have to do this and still get depressed over it should tell you that I am obviously not Stephenie Meyer. Hi everybody. I'm back..

Ch 20

_What was it again, that Edward had told me was the key to winning at this game_? I wondered.

There was something about the game being an aphrodisiac. I remembered that part and had also experienced it, firsthand. No, he had mentioned something _before_ that! Oh, right - Strategy!! Know your opponents weaknesses. I frowned. That was absolutely no help to me! As far as I could tell, Rosalie didn't have any weaknesses.

"Rose, you'll have to play at human speed and strength to be fair. Otherwise you could do serious damage to Bella. And I promise to close my mind off and not listen to any of your strategies, to even things out on our end." Edward promised.

Rosalie shrugged and replied, "That's not a problem. We're still going to beat you." Emmett slowly circled around us, an arrogant smile on his face.

I started to feel slightly intimidated as I considered the different ways this could end. Either Edward and I would go down hard, or we would win and I'd have to deal with a pissed off, vengeful, Rosalie. Neither option was very appealing. Before I knew what was happening, Edward had moved in and Rose was within striking distance. I felt her grab onto my shoulders and shake me as soon as we got close enough..

Edward tightened his grip around my legs and I grappled with Rose. If that was her going _easy_ on me, I'd hate to play against an _unrestrained_ Rosalie. I ducked down as low as I could to bring my center of gravity in. Rose was almost six inches taller than me, which gave me a slight advantage over her, if she played fairly. It meant that I was a smaller target than her.

Emmett broke away and walked in a zig zag pattern and faked a lunge at us, to throw us off track.

He whined when Edward didn't fall for his little ruse. "Edward! I thought you promised not to read my mind!" he wailed.

Edward laughed. "Emmett, you are so predictable, I didn't need to read your mind to see that one coming!"

I crouched down low, which made it nearly impossible for a human-strength Rose to knock me off of Edward because we were so solid. Unfortunately it also left me too low to get a good grip on her upper body to force her off of Emmett.

We were at a wrestling standstill, unless one of us could come up with a different technique. _Use her weakness against her, Bella!_ My mind kept screaming at me. I racked my brain for something to use against Rosalie. She was extremely strong, smart, beautiful and..._vain_.

I deliberately let go of Rose and held my body away from hers, leaning far back while pointing to some spot on her head that was too high for her to see. "EEEEEWWW!! Ok, I can't ignore it anymore! That beetle in your hair is really starting to freak me out now, Rose."

"What?!" she screeched and twisted her body around in her attempt to comb through her picture-perfect hair and locate the source of my disgust. There was no way in hell Rosalie Hale was going to let anything ugly touch any part of her. Edward caught on quickly. He smiled and jumped toward Emmett while I pushed Rose's writhing, unsuspecting, body off of Emmett and into the water. She hadn't even put up a fight.

"Take that, Teamo Supremo! Your reign of terror has just ended!" Edward scoffed. Emmett pouted and slapped at the water like a five year old having a tantrum, but Rose kept running her fingers through her hair.

Jasper wanted in on the victory celebration, too. He lived vicariously through us for a minute and joined in the taunting of _'Teamo_ _Supremo'_. "Ha!! It looks like you guys were one wheel short of a unicycle, that time, Emmett!"

Finally the truth dawned on Rose. "There was never a bug in my hair, was there, Bella?" her eyes narrowed into evil little slits and she glared at me.

"No." I answered honestly and waited for the onslaught. Instead, Rosalie's face softened and she let out a sigh of relief before she threw her head back and started to laugh.

"Thank God!!! That would've been repulsive, to say the least... But, you did trick me, though.. Oooh, you know how to fight dirty, huh? I'll have to remember that for future references. Maybe we can team up for other games, sometime, if you can pull yourself away from Edward long enough, that is. We would really be a force to be reckoned with."

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. The sincerity in Rose's voice took me by surprise. It was the nicest she'd ever been to me. I smiled, a little baffled. "Yeah, we would. I might take you up on that offer one day."

"But not today. Today you're all mine." Edward softly whispered as he let go of one of my legs, and swung me around to face him. His hair was loose and messy and droplets of water fell down onto his glistening chest. He was too beautiful. I wanted to tell him how impossibly alluring I found him at that moment, but I couldn't find the right words, so I quickly leaned forward and kissed his wet lips, instead. His mouth opened with a rush of cool breath and his eyes became wild and unfocused as his tongue swept my mouth. I gently rested my arms at the nape of his neck and concentrated on intensifying the kiss before he could stop me. It lasted less than a minute before he froze up and slowly lowered me back into the water, beside him. Damn his boundaries!

For the next hour, Edward and I carelessly swam together while the others played a hysterically, fast paced, game of vampire Marco Polo. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. They were zipping back and forth along the lake and I had no idea who was winning. Then, without warning, the slightly overcast sky became increasingly darker, and I heard the rumble in the distance. The swans slowly made their way out of the water and walked away from the shore, to seek protection under the thick canopy of trees. I took one last look at them and watched them walk away, retreating further into the forest.

It was Alice who spoke up first as she and Jasper climbed out of the lake at the side of the bank closest to them. "That wasn't in the forecast. Edward, you should probably get her out of the water, now!!" Her eyes settled on me.

I saw the look on Edward's face as a bolt of lightning darted across the sky and again the thunder roared. Only this time it was louder. Closer.

"Shit!!" Emmett swore as the lightning coursed above our heads. He and Rose held hands and dove underwater. Edward took my hand and we started swimming back to the shore. He didn't say anything, but I could tell I was slowing him down.

"One, Two, Three, Four, Five..." Alice counted. _Boom_!!! "It's five seconds between strike and thunder. That's still enough time to get her out of there Edward, but not swimming with her like that. You'll need to speed it up."

"How?!" I asked as I thrashed about, kicking and swimming as fast as I could. My awkward movements were painfully slow. It felt like I was swimmimg in circles. The shore still looked just as far away as before so I couldn't tell if I was gaining any ground.

"There are ways, although I doubt you'd like any of them, Bella." Rosalie frowned as she and Emmett resurfaced and climbed out of the water near the edge of the lake where we had entered from. I could hear the disappointment creep into her voice.

"She might not have a choice at this point. I'm limited on my time and options with her." Edward answered her as the rain started to drizzle on us.

"Edward, I'm right here. Stop talking about me like I can't hear you! Now...Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it!" I shivered, hyperaware of each word he spoke.

"Do you trust me, Bella?" he stared at me with something like horror in his eyes.

I could hear Alice clearly when she spoke again. "One, Two, Three, Four..." _Boom_!!

I was afraid, but didn't look away from Edward's face when I meekly answered him in the same way I had the last time he asked that question. "You know I trust you with my life... As Always!"

"Then I need you to take a deep breath and don't fight me when I pull you down with me. I'm going to run with you along the lake floor to build up traction. There's no undertow, so it's the fastest and safest way to get us out of here. If I don't breathe, I can sink straight to the bottom, like lead." He did the calculations out loud. "That will take about five seconds. Then maybe another ten seconds to reach the bank at full speed. You can do this. Fifteen seconds isn't a long time if you stay calm and don't panic.The important thing is that you keep your eyes closed or the speed will make you sick. Oh, God...Don't make me regret this."

My stomach lurched as the lightning crashed all around us. If I became dizzy or nauseous while underwater, it could have dire consequences for me. On the other hand, if I stayed in the water and kept trying to swim back at human sped, I was likely to be electrocuted when the lightning struck, as it was bound to do, any minute now. Edward's plan was the most logical solution. Edward looked much more scared for me than I felt. I tried to put on my bravest face for him, all the while my heart was beating erratically and said "Ok, so- Close my eyes! Hold my breath! Stay calm! That's easy enough! Anything else I need to know?"

"Just this. I love you." He pulled me to him and kissed me, roughly, desperately.

"There will be time for that later. Do it now, before she gets fried!!" Jasper was a ball of nerves and he rocked back and forth while Alice tried to hold him still. His words did nothing to calm us. I wanted to ask him to help Edward. To relieve his stress and help him focus, but I realized he coudn't. He couldn't even calm _himself_ down. There was too much fear and anxiety coming from everyone and he was only one man against all of that emotion.

"It's going to work, Edward." Alice chimed in, but didn't look directly at us.

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"Take a deep breath, then close your eyes." Edward instructed.

I closed my eyes first and then sucked in the most air I possibly could. I instantly felt Edward's grip tighten around my waist and I was suddenly pulled down. I knew he didn't want to take any longer than was absolutely necessary while I held my breath. We fell faster than gravity could pull us. As the water rushed past me at great speeds, I wanted more than anything to open my eyes and look at Edward's face. But I didn't. Instead I concentrated on counting to keep myself calm in the dark.

_One, Two, Three ...Were we still falling? I couldn't tell._

_Four, Five, Six, Seven ... Almost halfway there! We don't seem to be dropping anymore. This isn't so bad._

_Eight, Nine, Ten ... Two thirds done. We're probably already moving forward by this point._

_Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen ... Just a few more seconds and it'll be over._

_Fourteen, Fifteen...Sixteen...?!?! ... I should've been out of the water by now. Edward said it would only take fifteen seconds._

_Seventeen...Eighteen... Edward?! What's going on? I am going to open my eyes..._

I opened my eyes and immediately wished I hadn't. I started to feel dizzy and disoriented and everything was spinning. I vaguely noticed Edward holding me until he frowned and pushed me upward, hard, until my head broke through the surface. I was quickly being lifted out of the water by Emmett's strong and gentle hands.

Edward followed and frantically pulled me from Emmett's arms onto his lap as I gulped and coughed, sucking up as much air as I could. Lightning hit the lake a split second later, striking down in the middle where we had been just seconds before. Edward tucked a strand of wet hair out of my eyes and shuddered. I noticed that his beautiful face was stricken with worry and guilt. It had been much worse for him than for me. I wanted to tell him that, to let him know that I was ok, but I couldn't speak yet. I was still too constricted.

"Bella!! Are you alright? Try to take even breaths." The panic in his voice was obvious.

I didn't dare cry for fear of what it would do to him. I swallowed hard and forced myself to smile at him as I nodded my head. "I'm ok. Give me a minute." I managed to choke out as I fought to take long slow breaths. I remembered something I had learned in gym class. The goal was to try and limit myself to breathing in only as much air as I was exhaling each time. It would be hard at first, but would gradually become easier. It had something to do with endurance while running or jogging, but it also made sense when trying to catch your breath for other reasons, too.

I lay there in his arms and slowed my breathing, concentrating on his heavenly scent and his deep eyes. I knew I was going to be fine. I finally gave his hand a squeeze, sat up slowly, and tried speaking again, fairly certain I could do it with no problems.

"Who said chivalry is dead? Edward, you saved me ... again." I tried to make light of the situation, but his eyes were hard and flickered with pain.

"I should've never brought you here.You panicked and that makes twice now that you've almost drowned because of me. The weather wasn't supposed to change until tomorrow.. Some reward! Instead of giving you a treat, I've probably traumatized you even more. I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Edward, look at me! I'm fine!" I took both of his hands in mine and leaned in close. "I'm not traumatized and I didn't panic. It was actually my own stupid fault for opening my eyes when you told me not to. I should've been a little more patient and listened to you. But I won't ever regret coming to this enchanting place and it was right of you to make me face my fears. I'm not afraid anymore."

"Can you forgive me?" his eyes pleaded. It broke me and reduced me to a blubbering idiot in front of all of them.

"There is nothing to forgive. I loved you when you were the emotionally guarded guy in that lunch room and when I thought you were an angry guy in biology class who hated me. I loved you when I realized you and your family were vampires. I loved you when I thought James was going to kill me. I loved you when you refused to change me and when you made me go to my prom. I loved you even when I didn't think I would ever be able to love anyone again. And I love you now. No one else has ever captivated me like you have. That will never change."

His eyes shone and he tilted my head back and sweetly kissed my lips. Emotion coursed through me and I drew him in closer by twining my fingers through his hair. Nothing else existed but him. Nothing else mattered.

"Come on. Let's get her out of here." Rosalie's voice broke through, softly interrupting the moment. Emmett was holding her around the waist. I exchanged a knowing look with him and smiled when I recognized the intense emotion on his face. His love for her was a mirror of how I felt for Edward. Alice kissed Jasper and didn't break contact with him as he scooped her up into his arms and started carrying her back to the SUV without a word to anyone.

"See you two back there." Emmett reiterated and followed suit by picking Rose up and walking with her out of the forest.

"Finally! I thought they'd never leave us alone. Now, it's just us." I joked.

Edward laughed softly and stood over me. "No, it's not. Not yet, anyway. Come on! It's getting late" he pulled me up and lifted me into his arms effortlessly.

The ride back home was spent mostly in silence, with the heater cranked up. Jasper had decided to drive home. He was in a solemn and thoughtful mood and it was affecting everyone. I wanted desperately to break up the monotony and get back to the mood we had been in on the way here. I remembered that I still had a burning question on my mind.

"Alice, what's in that box you've been holding?" I asked, ignoring Edward's glare and leaning over to stare at her.

Edward growled a soft low rumble but Alice had had enough. "No Edward!!! That's it!! I don't think either of us should be punished!!" she shouted, her pixie like features suddenly very serious and dangerous looking.

Edward raised his eyebrows at that and didn't say anything.

"That's right, You are punishing me too with this!! You know how I love shopping and giving gifts. And you won't let me do that!... I think you've proved your point and I'm sure Bella has learned her lesson about the importance of studying and all, but enough is enough!! This has gone on way too long!! And especially after everything she has just gone through... It's the least you can do. For God's sake - it's too late for her to use it, right now anyway. Can't you just let her have the damn gift, Edward?!"

Her words cut through him. I knew she was hitting below the belt by using a guilt trip on him, but I didn't say anything to counter it. I wanted whatever was in that box so much it was making me crazy.

I looked hopefully at Edward's face and smiled as innocently as I could. "I suppose I do owe you something after that whole ordeal." he agreed and nodded to Alice as she handed over the box to me. I knew I should have comforted him again and reminded him that it was nothing and that I was alright, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. "It was meant to be part of the reward if you answered both parts of that last question correctly. I suppose I could always give you another shot at it. You'd have to put the contents of the box away, though until you redeem yourself by getting the next set of questions right. And then you wouldn't be surprised about what the reward is. Do you still want the box?" he asked.

"Yes!" I shouted and took the box from Alice before he could change his mind. I held it in my lap for a second to savor the moment.

"Well, hurry up and open it, then. You're just as evil as he is!" Alice pouted and crossed her arms.

I ripped the box open and leafed through the tissue paper to pull out a bikini set that very closely resembled a sunset.The top was bright red and faded into various oranges and finally a pale yellow at the bikini bottom. I imagined it on me and blushed, knowing the affect that it would have had on Edward. I saw a sparkle of red at the bottom of the box and realized there was more to the gift. I gasped as I lifted up the red aquablade brief speedo that was obviously intended for Edward. I blushed a darker shade and then the feeling of regret hit me full on.

"Wait!! Edward! Were you going to wear this for me if I had gotten that other question right?"

He smiled a sad smile and I knew the answer. "There's more." he added softly, his eyes going back to the box. I didn't see anything else, but after carefully looking through the tissue paper, I realized I had thrown an envelope onto the floor in my haste.

I reached over and picked it up and read the little card inside and groaned.

"**Come and allow us to pamper you with our day-long Couples massage and whirlpool treatments! Enjoy the romantic atmosphere of massage aromatherapy and relaxation techniques provided by your personal masseurs available exclusively here at our newest location. The Olympic Day Spa is located at 332 E 8th St. Port Angeles-"**

I stopped reading and stared at Edward, my jaw on the floor. I felt like I was going to be sick. The grief was overwhelming. I couldn't believe I had messed up and lost THIS, of all rewards. Why oh why hadn't I spent a little more time on that last chapter?

Jasper sympathised with my heartbreak and spoke up while occasionally looking at me in the rearview mirror. "I know, Bella. And you haven't even _been there_ to fully appreciate how wonderul that place is!! I've taken Alice and it is really amazing. Emmett recently started taking Rosalie too, now that he has realized that the couple spa sessions can be just as rewarding for men. We usually rent out the entire spa and their staff for the day so we can do whatever we want. But cheer up a little. You can still get it if you are determined not to miss any more questions. When is Edward going to quiz you again?"

I shot a look at Edward. "Maybe later tonight?" I asked. I was so excited that I wished I had brought the book with me to read on the ride home.

He smiled a lopsided smile. "Maybe..." His expression grew wicked. He winked at me and I was determined that I would not get a single part of a question wrong again. I would do whatever it took to get my day alone with Edward at the spa. I held the red speedo's up again and whistled. I knew what I'd be dreaming about, tonight.

A/N: Yep.. It's probably what I'll be dreaming about tonight too. hehehe.

Ok- there you go. A nice long one because it's been a while since I posted. I was going to post it last night, but at 3am, my ideas started getting really stupid, and I wasn't done yet so I reluctantly shut the computer off for a little bit and just went to bed. My daughter also unfortunately caught the cold I had. So now it has come full circle. I hope you all liked what was in the box. I got so many messages from you guys pleading with me to let her have the gift, whatever it was, that I gave in. I hope you're all happier now. Ok- I admit - I feel a little better now, myself. I know- I'm weak. I hate making Bella suffer. lol. Of course it kind of gives away the next reward, so no points for guessing what he is going to do for her - but hey - I will still have fun writing about everything that happens to them at the spa. I also did something different in this chapter. Some people said it needed some sort of drama or something unfortunate to happen. So I tied in the part about the thunderstorm at the lake and them trying to get the hell out of there before lightning struck them. I hope it didn't ruin the beauty of the lake scene. I still love that lake.

Let me know if it was good or not. My wonderful friend and proofreader was gone for the second half of this so I didn't have her help to check it before I just posted it.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Hello, My name is Tara and I'm a twilightaholic. hi, Tara lol... Come on, of course I'm not Stephenie Meyer and I don't own Twilight. Would Stephenie need to go to Twilightahloics Anonymous? Ok, I feel better after getting that off my chest. The first step was admitting I have a problem. I'm doing really well in the program so far, arent I?

Ch 21

Edward and his siblings spent the remainder of the trip back to my house quizzing me on various subjects, my least favorite being The War of 1812.

"Don't you want to be able to look Charlie in the eye when he asks you how the studying went?" Edward smirked.

I groaned, but didn't argue with him since he made a good point. I struggled to pay attention and answer their questions, while they all took turns trying to stump me. Occasionally my thoughts would return to the box lying on the floor, between my feet, instead. My eyes glazed over. A day-long spa session with Edward! He would probably make me wait until the weekend to redeem that prize since we were only a couple days away from exams.

I'd never been to a spa before and my heart raced as I tried to picture what it would be like. Scenes from old movies set in the early 1900's flooded my mind and helped complete the vision. I imagined an elegant Victorian mansion with an Elizabethan style conservatory for the waiting room. There would be beautiful floral arrangements in every room, roses on the wallpaper, gold accents for the picture frames and mirrors, dark mahogany wood floors, and overstuffed, eggplant colored, velvet chairs and ottomans with swags and tassels, everywhere. Somehow, a tall, blond, muscled, Swedish man named Sven, complete with lotions and oils kept popping into my head. I wondered how his accent would sound and was surprised when his voice came out a lot like Edward's...

"Bella!? - Did you even hear a word I just said?" Edward snapped.

"Hmm?" I replied, dreamily, then sat up, straight. "Oh, I'm sorry, Edward. I guess I'm just getting a little overwhelmed, trying to keep it all straight." I smiled sheepishly at him, trying to focus on the here and now.

"Yeah, I guess it does get a little overwhelming. It's a lot to think about."" Alice chipped in, sympathizing with me. "So, is he blond or dark haired?"

"Blond... Wait, What!?" I blurted, stunned.

I blushed profusely as Alice and Rose giggled and Emmett swore and stuffed a fifty dollar bill into the hand that Jasper didn't need to use for driving. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Emmett and Jasper still whispering furiously back and forth at super speed while Edward laughed.

I couldn't believe they had bet on THAT, but I was more shocked to see Edward smiling and perfectly fine with the fact that I had just been picturing another man, however briefly. It didn't fall into place with how he had always been when Mike or Jake or any other guy interfered. He had one of the worst jealous streaks I'd ever seen. Fortunately for him, I found it rather adorable. I always took it as a sign of how much he wanted me, instead of being insecure. After all, we both knew I wasn't going anywhere.

I couldn't help but wonder how possesive I would've gotten if the shoe was on the other foot. As quickly as that thought popped into my mind, I was struck with a realization. I would find out soon enough. 'Couple's massage' meant that while Edward would be in the room with me, someone would be working on him, too.

Before the green eyed monster could rear it's ugly head any further, we rounded a corner and came within a two mile radius of my house. That was when Edward shook his head and alternated between swearing and laughing, pulling me out of my deep thoughts.

"What's with the sudden case of terrets?" I asked, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

"How much do you like Chinese food?" came the unexpected response.

"Wow, how very random of you, Edward. It's ok, I guess... Why?!.. What's going on?" I scrutinized his face, trying to make sense out of the strange conversation.

"Well, we're close enough for me to hear Charlie's thoughts, and he is pretty pissed with himself right now for almost burning the kitchen. He is ok, so try not to go into panic mode when you get inside. Anyway, now he is thinking of going with plan B for dinner, which is Chinese."

"Wait!! Go back to the part where Charlie almost burned the house down! What happened?" My eyes were wide in shock and my heart raced.

"I never said the house. I said the kitchen. And calm down! It isn't as bad as whatever you're picturing. The main thing is that he isn't hurt and that the house is still standing. The kitchen'll be fine, too. It'll take some work to repair that one whole wall behind the stove from the smoke and debris, but otherwise, not too much damage was done, considering it was Charlie and you left him home alone to fend for himself during dinnertime."

"He tried to cook?!! What was he thinking? He knows he can't cook! Doesn't he remember the spaghetti incident?? Why didn't he just get take-out in the first place?" I snarled in annoyance, now that my fears had subsided.

"Don't be too hard on him, Bella. He was doing it to surprise you with dinner when you got home."

"Oh...well... he should've just waited for me." I mumbled, suddenly ashamed of the names I had been calling Charlie in my head. "What was he trying to make, anyway?"

Edward's lips curled up into a huge grin and he simply answered " I'll let you ask him about it, yourself. Besides, you're not supposed to know anything, yet. Don't look at me like that! It wouldn't kill you to go out and enjoy dinner and some bonding time with Charlie. And be nice to him! He has been missing you a lot lately."

I leaned over, took Edward's face in my hands and gently kissed his mouth. Then I asked him the same question I asked every time he had to leave me for the brief intermission. "Edward, are you coming back later?"

"Do you even have to ask anymore? Yes, my love. I'll come back to you, as always! But it's going to be a few hours. I need a quick hunt tonight if I'm going to be able to restrain myself tomorrow at the spa..." he answered in that silky voice that melted me.

"We're going to the spa ..._Tomorrow_!!!???" I shouted, overjoyed. "But what about school? Don't I need to go the day before the exams to cram in any final studying?"

"Weren't you the one saying you didn't mind skipping school all together on certain days? Actually, you seem to know everything you need to at this point! Well, except for those last couple of chapters of 'The Pearl', but I've got a feeling you just might finish that tonight. Sorry if we bombarded you with all those questions on the way back. They were basically all of the questions that the teachers always have on these tests you'll be taking. And you aced them! I'll call and reserve the spa for tomorrow when I get home. Something tells me you're not going to miss any more literature questions."

I let out a squeel and smiled, as I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and reached down to pick up my box from the floor, only to have Edward gently pry it from my hands. "That should probably stay with me for now, though, don't you think? Unless you want to try your hand at explaining my speedo to Charlie?" he replied while raising his eyebrows.

I shook my head, mortified with the thought, and quickly released my grip on the box. "I'm sure you'll take good care of it for me." I laughed.

As I said my goodbyes to everyone, Rose and Emmett waved to me, without looking up and continued laughing and flirting in the seats directly in front of us. Alice was leaning over Jasper, and seemed not to hear me. She had a crazed look in her eyes and was wrapped up in their discussion.

"Love gives itself. It isn't bought." I heard Jasper whisper to her, while running his hand up and down her arm and placing little kisses along her cheek. He probably thought he was pretty slick until Alice came back with "Well, jewelry doesn't give itself, Jasper. And neither do Gucci bags, so it's a good thing the mall is open for another two hours."

Jasper sighed the sigh of a defeated man as he nodded and kissed Alice's hand. Now that _that_ was all settled, he and Alice both turned around to look at me. "Bye, Bella." They muttered in unison.

"Goodnight everyone. Edward, I'll be waiting for you. Well, I better go see how badly Charlie torched the kitchen and find out if the 'Shang Hai' is still open."

"Hey, Bella? Have fun tomorrow, but remember that the rest of us will still be stuck at school, so please try to keep your raging hormones in check, ok?" Jasper barely smiled at me as my face turned red and I climbed out of the car and hurried into the house.

I opened the front door and called out for Charlie. "Dad, are you home?" I knew he was, but I needed to go along with the game until I could find him and let him tell me, in his own words, what had happened. My question was met with silence. I maneuvered around the dirty bowls and empty diet coke cans on the living room floor and walked into the kitchen and gasped.

Charlie stood in the corner, with a blank, almost comatose, look on his face. He held a fire extinguisher in one hand and a filthy apron in the other. Thick foam covered the countertops and coated the sides of the oven and refrigerator. The wall behind the stove was black with smoke damage, just like Edward had described.

"Dad, are you ok? What happened in here?" I asked, waiting to hear the story behind the mess. I walked over and hugged Charlie which broke the trance.

"I'm fine. Just burnt the hell out of dinner and took half of the kitchen with it. Bells, I realized something, tonight. I've got no business being in a kitchen, in the first place." he said and sadly shook his head as his eyes swept the room. "I'll have to make some calls tomorrow and see how soon I can have this fixed. It's probably not going to be cheap. And I don't think we should cook in here until this is repaired."

I nodded in agreement and truthfully stated "I don't think we _can_ cook in here now, even if we wanted to. But I don't care about the house, I'm just glad you weren't hurt. You know, I was kind of thinking along the lines of Chinese food, tonight, anyway."

Charlie's eyes lit up and he gave me a warm smile and squeezed me. "Really? That's funny. I was going to suggest that! Like father, like daughter, huh?"

When Charlie released his hold on me, I walked closer to the stove and looked at the small omelette pan sitting there. It had been my favorite piece of cookware. The handle was melted and the sides and bottom of the pan were now misshapen and gray. The black, bricklike, lump hanging well over the sides of the pan caught my eye. It was obviously too big to be cooked in that particular pan.

"Just out of curiosity, what was that going to be?" I asked, pointing at the mystery food.

"Meatloaf." Charlie muttered, somewhat distraught.

I bit my lip and tried not to laugh. "Well, Dad, I hate to tell you this, but meatloaf needs to cook in an oven, not on the top of the stove in an omelette pan." I said in my most gentle, non-accusatory tone.

"Yeah, I found that out a little too late. What happened was - all of this juice started flowing out of the meat, down the side of the pan, so I dumped some of it off, into the sink. And, when I put the pan back onto the stove, some of that liquid must've still been on the bottom or the side, because it started smoking and actually caught fire. I tried throwing some water on it..."

I groaned as I pictured Charlie trying to put out a grease fire with water.

"...but the water didn't do anything. That was the point when I realized that the 'juice' coming off the meat was actually grease. So, I picked up the pan to try to move it off of the heat, to the other burner, where I was going to cover it with a lid, but by that point, the handle was too hot to touch,... so I had to drop it quickly. Then the pan fell and the grease splashed against the back wall, there, and the flame caught. Thank God I remembered we have a fire extinguisher or the whole wall would've been gone."

I was grateful for the annoying fire extinguisher that always stuck out like a sore thumb against the wall where Charlie had mounted it a year ago. Of course, now we needed a new one.

I sighed. "I'll help you clean this up, as best as we can, when we get back. I think Shang Hai's is still open for another hour. Let's get out of here for a little bit and get some fresh air."

Shang Hai's proved to be a smart choice. Apparently not too many people went out for Chinese food on Wednesday nights. Besides one other couple chatting quietly, at a booth in the back, the restaurant was completely empty. Charlie and I laughed over our general tso's chicken and moo goo gai pan, as he calmed down a litle bit and started to make jokes at his own expense.

"How is it that I can barely start a fire for a barbecue, but nearly burn the house down with a _meatloaf_?" he threw his head back and laughed in between bites.

"I don't know. You're just good like that, I guess." I snickered. His eyes were soft and dancing. He was my old Charlie. I felt a little solemn as realized I hadn't spent too much quality time with him lately. My guard was still down when he hit me with the unexpected question.

"So, I've been watching you around Edward, lately. Is it as serious as I think it is?" He still had an easy-going smile on his face, but his eyes betrayed him and told me he fully expected me to answer the question.

_Crap! Where did that come from and how did I not see it coming? What does he expect me to say to that, anyway?_

"I don't know, Dad. How serious do you think it is?" I averted my gaze and took a sip of my hot tea, hoping the subject would somehow bore him so we could talk about something else.

"Look, this isn't exactly the most comfortable thing for me to talk about, either, but-"

"Good. Simple solution? Let's not talk about it, then!" I cut him off, which only annoyed him."Hey, who's playing tonight? Is this the night where the Bengals play the Browns? Go Ohio!!" I laughed nervously.

"Bella! I asked you a question. Now, stop trying to change the subject and answer me. Just how serious are you about him?" he stared at me, expectantly.

"Ok, you wanta know? I'm as serious as a heart attack when it comes to Edward!" I spat.

"What does that mean? Are you in love with him?"

"In love with him?? Yeah, Dad, I'm in love with him... and that's puting it mildly! If you care anything about me at all, you'll respect that."

_A/N: Sorry - Don't be too mad at me. I had to cut it there, because I'm still writing some of the spa scenes. I know- you guys want Edward in the speedo. Don't worry - it's coming!! That part will have to wait until tomorrow to post. Oh -and the only part of this that I didn't actually research was the menu at Shang Hai's. It is in Forks, but if they don't actually have one of those things on the menu, please don't shoot me. I was feeling a little lazy when I wrote that part..hehe_

_Well, let's see. It's almost 1am and once again I'm dead tired and have to work, tomorrow...What else is new? This is getting to be a habit. Time for me to go to sleep and recharge my batteries. (No, you perverts - I mean my BRAIN!.. lol)_

_I created folders for some of you that I noticed send me tons of funny messages or interesting stuff that I just didn't want to delete. And - mndlrn - I have one for you too..It's strange that I have so many private messages from you, but I don't think you've ever actually reviewed?? Hmm.. why is that? Ok, guys...send me some love. Going to bed now!!_


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer and I don't own Twilight. I am also dropping out of the Twilightaholics Anonymous program because I have fallen off the wagon too many times to stay clean. I love it too much to give it up just yet!! Ha!!!

Ch 22

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I wondered what Charlie was thinking. _Is he upset with me? He's probably going to go off on some tangent now about how I'm too young to really be in love, right? I know he is only trying to protect me, but there's no way I can let him keep me from Edward, no matter how good his intentions are._

"I guess I should ease up a little on him, then, since he's probably going to be around for a while, huh?" He didn't look upset. In fact, he almost brought himself to smile as he searched my face for approval. My heart nearly broke and I reminded myself that my time with Charlie was very limited, now. I wondered if he sensed it, too. I smiled lovingly at him and graciously accepted the olive branch that he extended as I leaned across the table and gave him my biggest bear hug.

"It would be the nicest thing you could ever do for me, seriously. It kills me every time I have to choose sides between my two favorite men. The idea of you making my life easier by being nice to him means the world to me. And, yeah, he's going to be around for a long time. He's going to be around forever."

_And ever and ever...amen. Oh, stop being stupid and giddy already, Bella!_

The rest of our conversation was light and happy. I even jokingly thanked Charlie for risking his life for me in the 'Great Battle of Meatloaf' as it would forever come to be known. Charlie ordered some saki and offered me a taste which I politely refused, raising suspicions again.

"You always bug me that you want to try the saki whenever I order it, here. Now, the one time I say yes and you don't want it? What's going on?" Charlie asked.

"I can't! I have a lot of studying to finish. Exams are this Friday, Dad" I announced. Well, technically that _WAS_ the real reason. More specifically, I needed a clear head if I was going to finish 'The Pearl' tonight.

"Right.. the big exams. I forgot...And how is the studying coming along? Are you ready?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Almost. Edward and his siblings are great tutors!" I answered and must've had a far off look on my face, because Charlie reached out for my hand and said "Honey, if you would rather hang out with Edward and study tonight, I will understand. You can give him a call when we get back and see if he wants to come over. I'll clean up the mess in the kitchen by myself."

My heart swelled, because I knew how hard it was for him to give up that much control. "No, dad. I promised that I would help you with it. You're stuck with me, tonight!" Edward needed to hunt and I knew I would have time with him later, anyway. Was Charlie really asking so much of me?

I grinned and the third time Charlie patted my hand, I grabbed it and engaged him in a thumb war instead, to try to break up the too intense father-daughter moment. Charlie let me win, just like he always did when I was little. I turned my head away from him to look out the window before my tears would spill over. I knew in that moment how much I was truly going to miss him. I knew I would still leave him, anyway.

Not being able to take it any longer, the owner of the restaurant came over and politely announced that he had closed twenty minutes ago. I noticed the couple in the back had already left and everyone in the kitchen kept poking their heads around the corner, waiting on Charlie and I to go home so they could close up.

"My compliments to the chef. I'm sorry we lost track of the time, it was just so wonderful..." Charlie exclaimed but he smiled at me. The owner bowed to us, but didn't smile. We took our cue and left.

The task of cleaning the kitchen proved harder than it looked. Every time we thought we'd gotten the majority of the foam cleaned up, we would open a cabinet, utensil drawer, or pantry to find it had seeped onto everything in there, too. We slipped and slided on the slick floor and went through five rolls of paper towels, trying to get all of the foam off of everything before we resigned ourselves to the fact that it would take more people and more time to get the kitchen back into working order.

"We've worked on it for over an hour and barely dented it. Let's call it quits for now, Bells." Charlie said, leaning against a counter, exhausted.

"Ok, Dad. We can always hire someone to come out and help with the cleanup over the weekend. I think it can sit like that until then and I'm fine with bringing home dinners for a couple days in the meantime... So, do you want to watch a movie instead for a little bit? It doesn't have to be Queen of the Damned. I'll let you pick." I added quickly.

"Thanks, honey, but maybe another night, ok? I'm not as young as I used to be and that really kicked my butt. I think I'm going to take a hot shower and head to bed early tonight, if you're ok with entertaining yourself for a while."

"No problem. I still need to study a little more for literature. I'll just head up to my room, too."

"Goodnight Bells. Love ya"

"Love you too, Dad."

Tears streamed down my face forty minutes later, as I closed my book for the last time. I had taken extra time making sure to read every little detail. Unfortunately, 'The Pearl' ended on an unexpectedly tragic note and I felt personally devastated right along with my favorite character. I walked to the bathrom and washed my tear stained face, but my eyes were still bright red. No amount of cold water would help that. I knew from experience that it took time for my face to clear up. It would look like that for another fifteen minutes or so.

That's how I was when Edward found me, sitting on my bed. "Bella!! What happened?! Are you ok?!" his eyes were wide and he crossed the room to quickly come to my side.

I threw myself at him and buried my face in his chest, taking comfort in his strong arms.

"I can't believe it ended like that, Edward. That was the saddest book I've ever read." I closed my eyes, catching my breath against a sob.

"It is sad, but the book is extremely well written and is loaded with irony and great symbolism. One of his best, I'd say. Was it still worth reading?"

I sighed and slowly nodded. Overall, I had enjoyed the book, I just always hoped for a happy ending for everyone. In my world, the good guys were always supposed to win and the innocent were never harmed. I looked up at Edward's beautiful face. His eyes were the light golden shade again. I knew the hunt had been succesful. "Can we just get the questions out of the way, now, so I can stop thinking about it for a little while, though?"

"Are you sure you're ready then?" he asked, his eyes never leaving my face.

At my nod of permission, he began. "In chapter five, some things happen that've never happened before. These things each make Kino hear a 'song of evil'. Name the first two things, ONLY. This will be for the spa."

I thought for a moment. The book had taken a dark turn at the fifth chapter and so many bad things had happened that it was hard to narrow down exactly what answers Edward was looking for.

After sitting in silence for a little while and replaying it over in my mind, I remembered.

"Oh. I think I know... No! I'm _SURE_ I know!! Kino attacks his own wife because she snuck out of the house to throw the pearl back into the sea. That was the first time he heard the 'song of evil' as it related to him, personally. The second time he hears it is when he ends up killing the man who came to attack him while he was on the path."

Edward grinned and gave me a hug to leave me breathless. "Correct." he whispered into my ear."And since we are going to be out all day tomorrow, would you like to just go ahead and answer the questions for the last chapter now, too?"

I smiled and nodded my head. The last chapter was the freshest in my mind, but had also been the hardest to get through. I knew somehow that my last set of questions were going to be on that painfully depressing topic.

"In chapter six, Kino strips out of his clothes to sneak up on the trackers in the mountains. How many men are there, and which man was the one who fired the gun? The reward for this one, if you get it right, wont be revealed until tomorrow evening. Then you will have the exam on Friday and, of course if you ace that, I will give you the big final reward over the weekend."

"Why not give me the last reward on Friday after I come back and tell you I got the A?" I asked.

"Because, I think you made a promise to be with someone else after school that day." His face was twisted in aversion and I silently cursed myself for making the promise to Jacob. It was already causing problems. "So, do you actually have an answer or are you stalling for time?" Edward persisted.

"I know the answer. There were three men on the mountain. Kino stabbed the first man in the neck at the same time the man's gun went off and ... killed the baby." I added the last part softly, but Edward was too happy for me to stay sad for long.

"I knew you weren't going to get any of them wrong! Congratulations!! You finally paid attention to fine detail. It's important with that book. The exam is going to deal a lot with that, too, so you'll be glad you did."

"Yes, _DAD_, I studied like a good little girl." I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes at him in mock annoyance.

"_Dad_, huh?!" he lunged at me, knocking me back on the bed, where he pinned me down and kissed me. "Does your Dad kiss you like this?" he asked in a low,sexy, whisper.

"Thank God, No!!" I answered and giggled as he started to tickle me. "Shh!! Stop making me laugh! I don't want to wake Charlie up! It would completely destroy all the headway I made with him today. By the way, I think you might notice a pleasant change in Charlie, next time you see him." I said, mysteriously and yawned.

Edward looked questioningly at me, but didn't press the issue."I'll be here tomorrow after Charlie goes to work."

I turned over and laid my head against his cool chest. My heavy eyelids eventually started to close on their own accord. It'd been a long day. I decided not to fight the inevitable, anymore. All was right with the world when I was in his arms. I closed my eyes completely and surrendered to the dream that was calling me.

I woke on my own accord long before my alarm had a chance to go off. I couldn't stay asleep any longer. The air was chilly. Apparently the cold front had moved in sometime during the night. I felt like a kid on Christmas day, all over again, only the spa was much better than any present Santa had ever left under the tree.

I got dressed and ran downstairs to choke down my bowl of cereal before rushing out the door and into Edward's open arms. His kiss had a nervous, excited buzz to it. He wore a black sweater and jeans, but the dark leather jacket was the sexiest part of the wardrobe. He looked extremely bad-ass in it.

"Hi." I murmured, in a very anticlimatic way.

He returned my smile. "Hi."

As I climbed into the Volvo and buckled in, I noticed the box sitting in between the two front seats. I grinned and picked up my hard earned reward, only to find the best part of the gift missing.

"Edward, did something happen to your speedo?" I asked, praying like hell that the answer would be no.

"Nope!" came the simple response.

A sigh of relief. "So, where is it?"

He patted the back of his jeans and grinned devilishly at me, before he tore off down the drive like a bat out of hell.

The spa looked nothing like I pictured it in my mind. The looming Roman columns were a dead giveaway that this was modeled after a Corinthian style building that had been modernized inside.

I walked under several high archways and almost fell over when I looked up. The immense archways had dual purposes. They not only helped support the concrete, but also had the power to amaze and glorify with their timeless beauty. The floors were covered with mosaics while the walls were lined with white and gray marble slabs.

Each room portrayed a different story taken from Greek mythology. The waiting room resembled an early colosseum and was beautiful, but hardly anyone gave it more than a few minutes of consideration, because their eyes were almost always immediately drawn instead, to the obscenely enormous room that it led into. The room just beyond the waiting area was called the Roman bath house. It had a wide walkway lined with columns and a few steps that led directly down into the rectangular pool. The heated pool took up almost the entire expanse of the room and was beautiful. It was illuminated from lights inside the pool walls as well as from above. Bright green vines wound along the columns and grew up to the ceiling, their delicates pink and purple flowers sprouting out and cascading everywhere. It looked like something out of 'Lifestyles of the rich and famous'. I understood why the Cullen's came here when they wanted to indulge.

"Damn, Edward!! This is the most impressive building I've ever seen. I can't believe something like this even exists in Forks!!" I uttered in awe. I was still staring at the room as I heard someone behind me clear their throat and realized it wasn't Edward. I spun around to see a gorgeous, blond, six foot tall man walking toward us. He wasn't the Sven I had been picturing. He was even nicer looking. His blue eyes shone and accentuated his dimples when he smiled at us.

"G'day mates! Welcome to the Olympic Day Spa! My name is Joey. I am the manager and also the head massage therapist on staff. It will be my extreme pleasure to make sure my staff and I..." he paused and gestured with his hands to the seven other people standing behind him "..meet all of your needs today and exceed your wildest expectations. The Cullen's have always been VIP's at our spa. We value your friendship and your repeat business." he announced as he walked forward to shake our hands."Now...You have the entire spa to yourselves so let your imaginations run wild."

_A/N: I know - it is just barely getting to the exciting part. The chapter is kinda long and it doesn't hurt to break it up into little sections. Besides it gives me a little more time to perfect the juicy scenes I have been toiling over. They are proving difficult, but I will get it together soon, I promise.. Just, Please be patient!! I don't want to give you a crappy spa experience._

_Thanks for all those reviews and messages you guys sent me for the last chapter!! I think I have responded to almost everyone at this point and if I haven't - not to worry - I will! Wow- I didn't know 'Meatloaf Montazuma' would go over so well, but I'm glad you liked that last chapter! The reason behind THIS particular part of the story is because so many of you said it wasn't fair for Bella to snap on Charlie all the time - and you know what - You're Right!! He deserves more..So I threw in the tender father-daughter bits between them. I tend to think so much about Edward that Charlie almost never really comes into my mind for more than a few seconds. And he is about to lose his only child. That's gotta be hard.. Anyway -I hope it was ok... and let me know what you guys think.. ((Also -on a side note - if anyone knows any Aussie slang - please, I'd love to speak with you! I'm needing some advice for the next chapter!!)) ok guys.. going to read some of YOUR stories, now!!_


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, so unfortunately I don't own Twilight. I have, however, been awake in the wee hours of Twilight reading and writing this story. Ok, now that THAT is out of the way, who's ready for some hot spa action??

Ch 23

"Edward and ... Bella, is it? Would either of you like to place a drink order at this time? We've got just about everything you can think of. Or if you want a specialty drink, we can make it for you. The sky's the limit." The booming Australian accent had taken me completely by surprise. It was a little out of place, here, but still sounded like music to my ears.

Edward naturally declined, saying he wasn't thirsty at all. Then he turned to me, tongue in cheek, and winked. "What about you, my love? You look a little parched. Aren't you thirsting for anything, right now?" He licked his lips a little.

I blushed, feeling embarassed at the way he was blatantly looking at me and said "Could I have a water?" to try to make his question seem as innocent as I could to all the onlookers in the room.

Joey smirked, exchanged knowing glances with Edward, and then focused back on me. "Water, huh? Sure, you can have water. Would you prefer flavored or plain?"

I didn't care. "Ummm, plain, I guess."

"What is your preference? Natural spring? Maybe carbonated? We carry Perrier, Evian,-" he held up a hand and was counting off the options on his fingers.

"Evian is fine for me. Thank you." I stopped him when I heard the first one I recognized.

A beautiful blond with a slight frame politely excused herself and reappeared a few minutes later, holding a bucket of bottled waters on ice. She looked Norwegian to me, but I couldn't be sure. I glanced at the rest of the staff briefly and tried to place faces with nationalities. Everyone was perfect looking and although they wore different, various outfits, I realized that every article of clothing was white. It gave a strange feeling of unity and cleanliness without sacrificing individual style.

Joey turned back to the workers and motioned for a guy and girl on opposites ends of the line to come forward. They walked toward us and handed Edward and I, each, a white terry cloth robe and matching slippers.

"You've already seen the waiting area and the bath house. The changing rooms are over here for women and back there for men" he gestured, turning and pointing in different directions. "Of course, you are our _only_ guests here, today, so if you would like to change, together, or have any one of the staff assist you with it, that's perfectly fine as well. The usual rules don't apply to Cullen's and their guests."

"Thank you for all of your hospitality in advance. We are very much looking forward to our first time...here." Edward said and again glanced at me in a way that made my face turn red as I looked down quickly.

He was playing a dangerous game of seduction and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. I could just imagine what the staff might have been thinking at that point. I couldn't look any of them in the eye, so I lowered my head and didn't respond. Edward obviously wanted the implications of our relationship made very clear to everyone. Even the parts of our relationship that hadn't happened, yet.

"I believe you mentioned that you wanted to end the evening with the couple's instructional massage? Have you had a moment to look over all of the services we offer and make a decision on what other activities you'll be doing, yet? " Joey smiled again and continued without missing a beat. When we both shook our heads no, he turned around to walk a few feet away and grab a couple of pamphlets out of a small desk and handed them to us.

I read over the extensive list, very aware of how Edward's free hand traced little circles in the small of my back, the whole time. There were no prices listed in the pamphlet. I assumed that if you had to ask, you probably couldn't afford it. The Olympic Day Spa offered a wide range of services from manicures and pedicures to Swedish massage, water therapy, and accupuncture. I immediately ruled that one out. I knew better than to have needles put into my body while my vampire boyfriend stood by and tried to control his blood lust.

When I got to the third page, my head started to spin. "Wow!! There's a lot to choose from." I remarked, which seemed to please the staff. "Is there any certain program that you can recommend?"

"Well, I think with your _unique_ position..." I wondered what he would say if he really knew just _how_ unique the situation really was. "...you might like the 'Addictive Alice' or the 'Royal Rosalie' special." Joey winked at me, his blue eyes blazing a hole through me.

I had only heard of people getting menu items at a _restaurant_ named after them, never anything like this. Of course it was Rose and Alice, and they were probably the most elite customers this spa ever got, so in a weird way, I guess it made sense, especialy since they were repeat business.

"Gee, I wonder how those two specials got their names. " Edward said, shaking his head. "What do they involve?"

The staff snickered at that and I saw Joey give them the evil eye and then quickly compose himself, again. "Well, the 'Addictive Alice' is the strangest program we've ever offered. It involves the guest purchasing every service listed on the pamphlet, and then seeing how much they can actually get done in their time here, before purchasing one of every take home item we have in stock."

That sounded like Alice.

"And, I'm afraid to ask, but what is the 'Royal Rosalie'" Edward asked, hesitantly.

I couldn't help but feel like Joey was leaving something out when he continued.

"Ah, the Rosalie... Well, it starts with a quick dip in the cool waters of the Roman bath for the couple. Then it leads into the Secret Garden hot soak, which is usually only one person, but again, the rules go out the window. The secret garden soak is in a private whirlpool in the back section. You choose your own scent to add aromatherapies into the bubbling tub. Very nice. She usually follows that up with the sugar scrub for her arms and legs and then they go for the couple's massage."

"That actually sounds nice." I said surprised to hear something so laid back and relaxing. Edward nodded his head in agreement.

"I think we've got a winner." Joey said. "Let me introduce you to the rest of the staff now so you can make your selections. I'll introduce them all and go over their specialties. You can choose one person to assist with everything if you are comfortable with someone in particular or you can request different members of the staff for different services. They each have areas of expertise." He motioned for us to follow him back to the eager line of workers. It was somewhat awkward and unnerving. I compared it to being at an animal shelter and feeling guilty as each hopeful person caught my gaze, before I passed them by.

Four women stood on the left side and the three men were on my right. I tried to memorize names as Joey made the introductions.

"This is Nikolina. She is the most experienced female massage therapist here. She is trained in all of the massage techniques that we offer and can work magic with her hands. Since she works on men most of the time, she has gotten very good at the gentlemen's massage, deep cleansing, and sports massages." It was the blond who had gotten my water, earlier. Her name confirmed my earlier suspicians. She was indeed Norwegian. She nodded her head, and smiled, widely, accepting his compliment. His gaze lingered on her a minute longer, before he moved down the line. I got the feeling there might have been something between them.

"Next we have our own tiny mischief maker. Don't let her size fool you, Carolina is a ball of energy. She heads most of the aerobics and fitness programs here and no one can keep up with her, but ironically, she is at her best when doing the body wraps and various soothing techniques." The small framed girl had long, jet black hair that was obviously the result of some strong dyes. She had a wild look in her eyes and reminded me of Alice, somehow. I knew I immediately liked her. Edward grinned and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"And last but not least, these are the twins. Caitlin and Kayleigh." Each one stepped forward to shake my hand as their name was called. I noticed that Caitlin smiled more easily than Kayleigh. "They specialize in the hand and foot treatments and although they are identical twins, they're as different as night and day." The two sisters had beautiful red curls and green eyes and no one would confuse them for anything other than the proud Irish women they were. Kayleigh's hair was a little longer and fell in layers around her face. If it wasn't for that feature, I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.

Joey moved to the men standing on the right. "And now, we have our guys. The first is Benjamin. He is excellent at hair and nail care." Benjamin had sandy blond hair and dark eyes. He shook my hand limply and smiled wider, fidgeted, and actually blushed when Edward approached. After thoroughly looking Edward up and down, his focus went back to Joey. I noticed Benjamin's shirt was open and he wore a loose fitting tie that hung down his bare chest. He could've curtsied and it wouldn't have surprised me. All he needed now, was one of those shirts that read **'It was either this or my studded, pleather, poncho with matching man clogs'**. I kept watching him out of the corner of my eye and was just about to whisper my little pun on words of trying to keep a 'straight' face about it to Edward, but he looked too repulsed by something, so I decided to let it go.

Joey moved on to the second guy standing in line. He was slender with reddish hair and brown eyes. He was nice looking, nothing spectacular, but had a sweet smile and was unusually shy and conservative. "This is Adam. He came to us about three weeks ago. He is the newest addition, but has already shown some impressive skills in exfoliating and body masques." Adam looked to be around our age, from what I could tell by his boyish features. He smiled and politely stated "Nice to meet both of you."

The last guy was extremely good looking and well defined. His body was obviously his temple. His brown hair and smoky green/gray eyes were the type of stuff young women fantasized about. If I hadn't been in love with Edward, I could've easily seen myself getting swept away by his charms. He had been silently watching me for a while and had a cocky grin on his face when he introduced himself to me before Joey had a chance to do it. He took my hand and instead of shaking it, gave it a kiss. "I'm Seth. I can definitely make your stay with us an unforgettable experience. I teach the nude yoga classes and also like doing reflexology, accupuncture, and some of those hot massage sessions you read about - like Shiatsu, Swedish, and my favorite - the erotic massage."

"What?! There wasn't anything in the brochures about erotic massages!" Edward roared, giving Seth a dirty look.

Joey stammered and quickly tried to make up for Seth's outburst. "It isn't something we put on the pamphlet and Seth shouldn't have brought it up, either! It is somewhat unorthodox." He shot Seth an angry look that I knew meant he would be talking to him later about this.

He reluctantly continued since the damage had already been done. "Ok, well, to tell the truth, Edward, it's a brand new service that we've only done a few times and is extremely intimate and personal in dealing with the errogenous zones. I'm not going to list it on our pamphlets and in fact, I usually don't mention it unless a married couple is looking to spice up their love life and asks if we offer it. Otherwise it could be a little...uncomfortable, to say the least."

I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I was mortified. Thankfully Joey brought us back to a safer subject.

"Anyway, think over who you'd like for your individual services and in the meantime if you're ready to get out of those clothes and head to the bath house for some swimming..."

Edward took my hand and smiled as Seth watched our fingers entwine. "You said the changing room was this way?" he asked.

"Yes. That's one of them." Joey started to say that it was the men's room, but Edward already had his answer.

"Good enough. We'll change in there." With that he led me off. Once we got inside the men's changing area, I set my robe down and looked around, impressed. There were lockers, a full steam room and showers. There were even two huge plasma TV's, one was tuned to a sports network. The other featured a business network of some sort. It was immaculate and made me wonder what the women's locker room had looked like.

"Edward, how exactly is this going to work?" I asked, suddenly anxious. I had brought in my suit and held it over my arm as I looked around. There weren't any stalls and the room offered no privacy. It wasn't a necessity since there were usually just men in here and the main bathrooms were down the hall.

"Go ahead and change, Bella. We can both just turn around. I'll get ready at the same time as you. Just give me the word when you're finished." He unbuckled his belt and I stood frozen, staring at him. I couldn't believe this was happening. He went for his button and laughed at the shocked look on my face. "You'd better turn around now. I don't need you having a heart attack."

I closed my mouth. "Oh, please, Edward. I'm fine! I'm not going to have a heart attack just because you are changing into a bathing suit. You've done it before, remember?" I complained and turned around. Of course I hadn't watched that time, either.

_Zip... Oh, God... Was that his pants? Ok, maybe I am going to have a heart attack. Slow, calming breaths, Bella_.

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Edward wasn't watching. His bare back was turned to me and his hands were on his pants, ready to pull them down. I turned back around quickly and undid my own pants and panties and slid them to the floor as I pulled up the bottom of my new bikini. Perfect fit! The sides were held together by silver rings, where some bikinis had ties. It showed off the whole sides of my hips.

Next was the top. I pulled off my sweater and undid my bra while I threw the bikini over my head and struggled to get my arms where they should go. It had strings that tied around the neck and in the back. The top was somewhat revealing, dipping down low in the front. Again, a silver ring held the two B-cup sections of the bikini together in the center of my chest.

I let out a nervous breath and called out. "Ok, Edward. I'm ready." We both spun around to face each other and took in a sharp breath at the same time.

"Oh. My. God... Edward...I think that's illegal." I couldn't say anything else. Looking at Edward in the speedo was making my mind reel. I couldn't look away. He was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I took in every inch of him and started imagining what he would look like, naked. I blushed, but didn't stop staring.

"Yeah, I could say the same thing about you. That's the hottest sunset I've ever seen in all my years!" His eyes were hungry, and I knew he wasn't thinking about my blood at the moment.

I moved forward and pressed myself against his hard, cold, body, momentarily forgetting where we were. Unfortunately the knock at the door reminded me.

"Everything ok in there?! Just give a holler if either of you need help." The Aussie accent was a dead giveaway that it was Joey, waiting for us. I let my head rest against Edward's chest for a minute and then sighed as I moved away from him to the door and put my robe over my suit.

"I don't suppose we can just hide out in here for a while, huh?" I asked, my face still pink.

"What? And miss all the fun that's coming up? Besides, if we can't even control this part, how do you think we're going to survive when it comes time to massage each other. I don't know about you, but a jump in the cold pool is sounding like a smart idea right now to me. I don't need to be this excited, yet."

"I see what you mean!" I exclaimed, unable to raise my eyes to meet his until he laughed and put his robe over himself. I opened the door, stepped out, and smiled shyly at Joey as he motioned for us to follow him to the bath house. He carried two large towels in his arms and set them at a table in the corner where my bucket of ice waters was sitting.

"In early days, Roman baths provided an opportunity for citizens to socialize, exercise, or just unwind after a hard day's work. Of course, it doesn't have to stop there. Feel free to do whatever you like in the pool. A word of advice, if you're not a strong swimmer or are uncomfortable in deep water, you'll want to avoid the middle of the pool, though, where the depth reaches twelve feet. It is shallow around the edges. We usually have a staff member stay close by as a lifeguard, but if you choose to have more privacy, we can be on-call just around the corner." He smiled and again I wondered why I felt like he was keeping something from me.

"I'm a strong swimmer..." Edward piped up. "...but don't let us chase you away. If your safety rules are to keep someone on staff, feel free to stay. We appreciate the hospitality." He grinned at me, but I saw through his charade. He obviously didn't trust himself to be alone with me right now, any more than I trusted myself.

Feeling guilty about ordering the water that I didn't really want, I unscrewed the cap off a bottle and drank a third of it to make a good show. Edward slowly untied the string around his robe, took it off, and laid it across his chair. I still couldn't get used to his nearly naked body. I knew I wouldn't have been able to control myself for even two minutes with him, if we didn't have witnesses. I followed his lead and let my robe drape over the arm of the other chair.

Joey let out a sound of surprise. "Oh. You have swimsuits on!"

"Yes, of course...Wait, what were you expecting?" Edward asked.

"Oh..No worries, mate. It's just that the 'Royal Rosalie' has always been done completely in the nude." he laughed as my face went white. I groaned as I suddenly realized that Rosalie's special wasn't going to be quite as innocent as I at first thought. I should've known better.

_A/N: Obviously there is more coming.. This is just an installment for those of you foaming at the mouth... I told you it would be too long to put the whole thing out as one chapter...Plus this way, I can go back and change things as I need...I'm so sorry it took a while for me to get this chapter out. I changed a lot of it before I decided to post it!!!! Also - We got a new Wii and a lot of my time has been spent doing that and trying to share myself between my readers and my family. I also need to give a big thanks to AnnieEm and All.The.Rage for their help with the Aussie stuff for this chapter. I decided I didn't want to butcher the beautiful accent and slang by overdoing it, so I kinda tried to keep the language as natural as possible. If I offended anyone, I am sorry. It isn't intentional. Well... this kind of shows you where the whole spa experience is going. I've outlined Bella and Edward's planned activities for you... And naughty Rose - what else does she do?? The interesting part will be who Bella and Edward each pick when it is time for the couple's instructional massage?? Who thinks they've got it figured out?? Send me your guesses and I'll let you know (privately) in advance if you are right. And vjgm - thank you for reading those parts of this and telling me it was good. I hope you weren't just being nice._

_Ok, everyone. My rant is over now. Go ahead and send me your guesses!!! I look forward to talking to you all!! _

_ Hugs,kisses,and vampire bites from me!!!_


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just own Edward's delicious, fictitious, spa experience. Yep - I'm ok with that..

Ch 24

"In the nude, huh?" Edward shot me a wicked smile as I gasped and shook my head no. For a minute, I almost had a panic attack as he played with the band of his speedo and I thought he might actually remove it. Edward laughed playfully at that and finally dove into the middle of the pool, suit intact. When he came up for air, he let me off the hook and replied "No, that's ok, Joey. I think we will just keep our suits on for now." I let out the breath I'd been holding and walked past Joey, a little self consciously, to the front of the pool.

Joey shrugged. "Your choice. I also have the music that you requested, whenever you're ready for it." He added mysteriously.

I took the first few steps down into the pool slowly, but somehow managed to miss the last step completely, falling into Edward's strong arms. I giggled over my perpetual clumsiness and clung to his perfectly muscled arms, aware of the proximity of his body, once again. The cold water ran off of him, down his broad, sexy chest, onto his washboard- flat, stomach, and then back into the pool as we stood there, in the shallow end, together. Time seemed to stop as Edward leaned his face down to mine, slowly, and I waited for the kiss that would no doubt leave me breathless. I wanted more than anything for Edward to completely make me his, in that moment.

Joey turned his head and looked at a book in his hands as he took a seat near the back of the pool to give us as much privacy as he could, under the circumstances.

"Yes, Edward...go ahead..." I muttered as I closed my eyes, and parted my lips, slightly. Instead of a passionate, heated, kiss, Edward only lightly kissed my forehead before releasing me. My frustration made rational thought obsolete. "I know you're trying to restrain yourself, but you're killing me, here, Edward. How can you be so chaste with me?? I'm ready to explode! Don't you want me as bad as I want you?" I whispered so low that only he could hear me.

He nodded, his eyes radiating, then spoke to Joey as he reluctantly dropped my hands. "I guess this is as good a time as any, Joey. You mentioned the music? Are you wired for sound out here?"

"Of course. If you can both excuse me for a moment. Let me just give the word." Joey replied, after ensuring that I hadn't hurt myself getting into the pool. He put his book down, turned, and strode back to the front of the building, shouting orders to someone.

As soon as he left, Edward pulled me back into his arms and whispered feverishly, as he pressed his lips to my throat, down my neck, and stopped as he reached the little silver ring on my bathing suit. "You think _YOU'RE_ going to explode?! I suppose it's partially my fault for joking that I was going to jump in the pool, nude... but at the same time, I was playing. You, on the other hand, are very serious in the signals you are sending. You keep giving me that green light and I'm having a very hard time trying to silence the little part of me that keeps saying 'What in the hell are you waiting for?' "

"Mmmmmmm..." I moaned, my body on fire. "Edward, what _ARE_ you waiting for?" He took a step back and paused, thinking of how to answer that.

"I love you more than words can say. And you're all I want right now, too, but we both know this isn't the time or place. Do me a favor - Just enjoy the ride. Make the most of this reward.!! Just understand that no matter how much you may want to seduce me right now, it can only go so far. If it makes you feel better, take consolation in the fact that I'm not really _teasing_ you. A tease doesn't plan on ever giving in. I plan on following through with everything you're wanting. Just - not yet. So, think of it as ...foreplay... and understand that I'm right there, suffering with you. ok?" His eyes pleaded with me to understand.

I nodded and smiled seductively at him as I repeated the word ' _foreplay ' _.

I kissed Edward innocently on the mouth as Joey rounded the corner and came back into view. The music that Edward had selected started playing through speakers that were flush mounted in the ceiling and walls. Joey held his arms out, and smiled as if to ask "who 's the man?" He nodded his head as the guitar started and exclaimed "This is a hot sound! I commend you on the music choice. I've never quite heard anything like it. They're not an American band are they?"

"This is actually Bella's favorite band. And yeah- They do grow on you, after a while. This group is 'The Rasmus'. They're a Finnish rock band and I think this particular song is called 'Immortal' ?" I smiled and nodded at Edward, confirming he had gotten both the band and song name right.

Edward smiled and tapped his foot to the music. I couldn't help but dance around him and sing along to the lyrics as the beat picked up. I'd never been able to resist doing that if it was a song I was passionate about. Even in the car, I would tap out the rhythym on my steering wheel and sing loudly. It didn't matter if I was alone or not. I was thankful that I could carry a tune for the most part.

"..._drink this blood and we'll become Immortal, baby... this love is breaking the one...last...bond_"

The song ended and I still had the big stupid grin on my face when the next selection started playing. I grabbed Edward's hands and jumped up and down with excitement. He had chosen songs he knew I loved the most. They were songs he had heard me singing a hundred times in my room at night or listening to on my MP3 player. They were also very hard to find, here in the States. I'd had to import the music from overseas.

I squeeled and sang along loudly again, all the while impressed at the lengths Edward had gone to in order to surprise me like this.

_"...Let me weep you this poem as Heaven's gates close. Paint you my soul, scarred and alone. Waiting for your kiss to take me back home. Hold me- Like you held on to life ,when all fears came alive and entombed me. Love me- Like you love the sun... Scorching the blood in my... my vampire heart"_

I tensed up for a minute when the second song ended and I realized that both songs had been about vampires. Oh, well. No big deal. Maybe Joey hadn't even noticed.

"Wow!! You like songs about vampires, huh? That's so hot!! The accent from that last song sounds pretty similar to the first one. That wouldn't happen to be the same band would it"

Ok, so maybe he HAD noticed after all. "No. That last song was actually by a band called HIM. They're probably my second favorite band, though. Also from Finland. I'm surprised you picked up on that. The lead singer in that one barely has an accent when he sings. As for the vampire references, that was just a coincedence, but, yeah, I guess they're pretty hot... You know- ... If you're into that kind of nonsense."

I wondered if it was a coincedence that both of those songs had just played back to back and I hoped I had kept my answer casual enough to squash any suspicions and keep Joey's mind from wandering further. I noticed Edward biting his tongue to keep from laughing about something.

I groaned when the third song broke out with the lyrics "..._I was turning over to 'til the vampires sleep. So dream a good one tonight. I'll listen to the bad ones when they come"_

I knew I was in trouble as I caught Joey's surprised expression. Edward found something very humorous in the whole thing and was fighting back the laughter that threatened to erupt. I mouthed a single word to him. "Help!" 

"What can I say, Joey? You found out our secret"

"Wait!!! Edward- " I warned, but he cut me off and kept talking.

"Now you know... Bella actually has quite the vampire obsession. She's heavy into that weird sort of stuff"

I was going to choke him.

Instead of the anticipated reaction, Joey burst out in a wide grin and became very animated. "Me too. I find the stories fascinating. Most people think I'm a little overboard because I've always got my nose buried in a vampire book. Don't you love how they have the power to turn into bats but are burned with holy water and the cross and all that? I've even started planning to take a trip to Transylvania to see the castles."

Joey must have noticed my jaw on the floor because he quickly became very business-like again and smoothed down his shirt as he regained his composure. "That wasn't very professional of me. It's just very rare that I find anyone else who has an interest in the vampire lore. I got a little caught up in the moment. I'm going to go back to my book now and I'll be right over there if either of you need me. I'm sorry if I was out of line."

"You weren't. You don't have to try so hard to be perfect. I'm having a wonderful time and I can't thank you enough for everything." I smiled what I hoped was a deeply appreciative smile.

We swam and danced to music for another half hour before I started to feel chilled in the pool.

"Bella, I think maybe we should move to the hot tub now. You must be freezing. You're lips are quivering, and I wouldn't mind a little warmth myself." Edward noted, and I heard the concern in his voice.

"Ok. Let's go." I said. I was having a great time, but I had to admit that I was suddenly very cold and the idea of being warm again sounded too good to pass up.

"Wait. Knowing you, you'll trip on the way out, too." he pointed at the steps, a faint smile on his face. I pouted, but allowed Edward to gently pick me up and carry me up the steps, out of the pool. The coolness of his body was even more pronounced once I was out of the water. I shivered as Joey came running over, robe in hand, and covered me.

"Th..th..thank you.." I stammered while my teeth chattered. Edward took his robe from Joey and threw it over his shoulder while wrapping both of our towels around my hair and neck for extra warmth.

"You were in there almost an hour. That's a long time. That water is pretty cold. Most people just take a quick dip and then head to the whirlpools. Let's get you warmed up a little. If you'll both follow me, I'll take you to the 'secret garden bath' whirlpools." Joey picked up my bucket of waters and carried them as we followed him to the rooms at the far south wing of the spa.

When we finally arrived at our destination, Joey opened the door to a lush, candlelit room with more various leafy plants and flowers surrounding a single bubbling tub. I knew why this was called the Secret Garden Bath. The intimate atmosphere was very promising and the steam coming off of the tub immeditely started to make me feel better. I couldn't wait to actually step into the hot water. Joey took my wet robe and towels and promised to send someone back with new ones.

"Can you be careful, my love? I don't think there's enough room for me to carry you all the way into this one." Edward said, regaining my attention by taking my elbow and leading me into the water.

I stepped safely into the whirlpool and sighed as I closed my eyes and let the warmth wash over me. "Oh...This feels so nice, Edward. Hurry up and climb in with me"

Edward lowered himself into the tub and let out a loud sigh, mirroring my mood. "This is heavenly. Very cozy!" he murmured and rubbed his leg against mine.

I started to run my hand up his leg, smiling seductively. The temptation to keep going was strong, but I stopped because I suddenly wasn't alone with him, anymore. The door burst open and the twins entered. Caitlin followed Kayleigh into the room and apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry for that extremely rude entrance. We usually knock... Dont We, Kayleigh?!" she snarled at her sister as she set our robes and towels down on a rack.

"Hmmph!! Well, at least these two are clothed." Kayleigh spat as she gave me a dirty look. "I'm going to go back to help Seth out now, Caitlin. This really doesn't need two people. I'm sure you can figure out what oils they'll need on your own?" She shot me another sour look and walked out the door.

I leaned into Edward and took a breath. I didn't know what I had done to deserve that, but one thing seemed pretty certain. "She doesn't like me. What did I do?" I wondered out loud.

Caitlin's face went as red as her hair. "Oh. I'm so sorry. This is really embarassing. You didn't do anything. She's just... in a mood."

"But why?! Something must have set her off. People don't usually just act like that for no reason." Edward's brow furrowed as I tried to make sense of it.

"I know it's no justification of how she acted and please believe me when I tell you that her kind of behavior is not tolerated around here. Joey would can her if he knew she did that. I think she is just a little jealous of you."

I raised my head in surprise. "Of me? Why?!"

Caitlin shrugged using only one shoulder and looked me in the eye. "She's jealous any time another woman gets more attention than her."

I immediately thought of Rose. Of course, Rosalie was a saint compared to that girl's bitchiness.

"But Edward is in love with me. I thought she would've realized that right from the start. Edward isn't looking at anyone but me-"

Caitlin held up a hand to stop me, there. "It isn't Edward she's upset over. But don't worry. She'll get over it. She doesn't have a choice."

I had nothing to say to that, so instead I asked about the basket of oils she had brought in with her.

_A/N: Yes - Edward knows why Kayleigh is having her fit. Obviously Kayleigh is a little taken with one of the guys..But you know Edward. He didn't say anything to Bella. He's always got a plan. He is going to use the whole thing to his advantage, so have faith. It will be ok.._

_Ok - anyone wondering about the song choices ... The first song "Immortal" by The Rasmus is one of my faves. And of course - they are my fave band so I'm plugging them. The second song was called "Vampire Heart" by Him ... very appropriate and another song and band I love. I was just at their concert a while back and they blew me away. The third song playing in the pool was "100 stories" by Alkaline Trio. All of those rock!! and I highly recommend listening to them. It might be harder to find Rasmus songs. I buy their stuff from Finland and from the UK. _

_BTW - only one person guessed correctly so far on who the massage choices will be and that was topaz addiction. Congrats!! Extra Congrats for knowing WHY they will choose those people._

_And last but not least - thanks to my brilliant proofreader who gave me the green light to post this tonight._

_Ok -if you guys enjoyed that chapter, please let me know. It'll fuel my passion to make me work that much quicker to get the next part out to you. :)_


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and Edward. I own Joey, Seth, and Adam. Stephanie wins that one, hands down!

Be prepared. Edward gives in a little more in this chapter.

Ch 25

Caitlin explained the various oils in great detail. Their scent, what each one was good for, how they were made, popularity of each one, and so on and so forth. My head was spinning from information overload. I could tell Edward was just as lost as me as we sniffed oil after oil, searching for a perfect one to add to our bubbling tub.

We had just about given up after recoiling from a scent that was a combination of lilac, lavendar, and some wild berries. Edward hated it. "Too soft and relaxing. And the smells don't exactly blend together very well. A little too medicinal. No, what we need is something that is more energized and ... _stimulating_.." Edward winked.

I turned to Caitlin and asked "Well, um, what one does Rosalie usually pick?" hoping I had found an easy solution to the problem.

"Oh, that's easy. She usually wants this one!!" Caitlin picked up a small bottle that was partially hidden and shook it, before unscrewing the lid and handing it over for us to sample.

"Mmmm.. that IS nice! It has an earthy smell. Works nicely for men or women. I like the way it makes me feel, too." I passed the bottle to Edward and waited for his decision, praying he would agree with me on this one.

He breathed it in and closed his eyes in appreciation. "It's perfect. It smells like a hint of vanilla being drowned out by a combination of cedar wood and musks. Nice, heavy, scent. It smells like ... sex!"

Edward's lips curled upward into a sly smile as Caitlin gasped and exclaimed "That's exactly what Rosalie said!! It's why she keeps choosing this one, in fact."

"Really?!" Edward feigned innocence, his eyes wide. "I think this is the one we want." I nodded in agreeance. "What is it called?"

I was sure he already knew. Show off!

"It's Australian Sandalwood - An amazing compound. It affects the limbic region of the brain which controls our emotions and it also has been widely used for sexual arousal... Wow, that was like de ja vue!! I think that was almost word for word the same conversation I had with Rose. The first time she came here, she actually had me describe every scent to her before she would sample anything! There just weren't any oils she was pleased with, so Joey mentioned he had a few personal bottles that he'd brought back with him from his last trip back home to Western Australia that she might like. I added it to the basket today on a whim. Strange! What were the odds you'd pick the same one?" She shook her head in amazement as she poured a small amount of the solution into the foaming water.

"Yeah! Very strange indeed..What _WERE_ the odds, Edward?? " I asked as I smirked, threatening to expose him. I was still trying to find a way to get him back for letting Joey believe I was some sort of deranged vampire-loving lunatic, earlier.

Edward merely shrugged and splashed a little water at me, telling me to breathe it in and let the aroma work it's magic.

Caitlin blushed as he made his intentions very clear by leaning down and kissing me. She grabbed an unopened bottle of water and placed it on a small ledge next to me as she handed Edward and I some wet washcloths and quickly finished her speech so she could leave.

"I'm going to let you two have some alone time, now. There's a button on each side for immediate assistance if either of you need anything. As a safetly measure, the maximum time in here is thirty five minutes. And these cold washcloths are for your forehead because sometimes the heat gets to be a little much."

Edward grabbed my washcloth and his and threw them both down on the ledge next to my bottle of water. His eyes burned with a fierce passion and he said in a low silky voice "I'm willing to bet the heat is going to become incredibly intense!!!! I'm also pretty sure there's not a damn thing that little towel is going to do to stop it." Caitlin looked dreamily at both of us and smiled softly as she closed the door behind her on her way out.

"That's better. All alone again." Edward purred. "Come here, Bella." There already wasn't much space separating us. He pulled me forward, to face him and began kissing my neck and shoulder. I threw my arms around his neck, drawing him in closer. His tongue ran a straight line from my throat up to my ear lobe as he alternated between licking and biting me softly, so as not to break the skin.

I turned my head, moving my ear away from his mouth. I didn't know if it was purely hormones or if the sandalwood oil was adding to my mood, but I needed to be able to kiss him back, before I went crazy. He recognized the hunger in my eyes and granted me my wish. He sat upright on his knees and held my body tight against him. His kisses came fast and frenzied and gave me just enough time in between to draw another breath back into my lungs before his tongue darted in and out of my mouth.

"Edward...Oh...!" I moaned, not wanting it to end. The coolness from his body balanced out the heat of the hot tub, nicely.

"As long as you know it is still just foreplay, I want to try something, Bella..If you'll let me..." Edward said, huskily, as the lean muscles in his arms flexed.

A million visions filled my head and my heart raced at the words, as I thought of all the possibilities! I wanted as much of him as he would give me. I secretly wondered if I could actually take him over the edge and if I would really be ready for that if it happened. "You know I'll let you... Just be gentle with me, Edward." I lowered my head and looked up at him, seductively, through my thick eyelashes as I watched his inner struggle.

He quickly released me and sat back on the little seat in the water, motionless. I thought he had changed his mind until he grabbed my wrist and spun me around, facing me away from him.

Then, without warning, his arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me down onto him, hard. He slid me back and jerked his hips forward in one fluid motion, to better position me against him. I was sitting in his lap and could feel every bit of him. I knew what this would be if we didn't have our swimsuits on, separating our bodies.

He pulled my wet hair off to one side and kissed the back of my neck, while I panted and said his name over and over. I could tell he liked that because he smiled and kissed me faster. Suddenly, he stopped kissing me, but his hands stayed at my hips and gripped me tighter as he slowly began thrusting forward, moving me with him. A wave of emotion sent my heart fluttering at what might follow.

My whole body ached with desire. I wanted the real thing. He didn't fight me when I gently pushed away from him. "Now there's something I want to try." I whispered.

As soon as he let me go, I turned and faced him and went on my knees. I held my legs far apart on either side of him, straddling, but giving a wide berth. He smiled and said simply "Welcome back..." as he once again pulled me on top of him and closed my legs tighter around him.

I sucked his lips and went back to going through the motions while kissing him. Everything was going off without a hitch. The mood was perfect. I decided the time had finally come to take it to a whole new level. I brought my hands back behind my neck to untie the string that would release my bikini top when I heard a soft noise that made me stop.

I stiffened and listened for a minute, wondering if the sound hadn't just been the frantic beating of my own heart.

I cursed as I heard the noise again and recognized it as someone knocking at the door.

"Hello?? It's Adam. I've been knocking for a few minutes and I'm getting a little worried. If you guys are ok in there, please say something."

Edward sighed as he moved me back from him and immersed himself as far down into the water as he could, before answering Adam's cry.

"Yes, Adam. We're fine." Edward yelled out and shot me a warning look that let me know he was going to call Adam in. "Come on in." He called out.

Adam opened the door and steped inside cautiously as I finished downing the bottled water I suddenly desperately needed.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you guys. I know the hot tubs are wonderful,... It's just that you've been in here for over forty minutes and that's a little dangerous with the water temperature being what it is. You can dehydrate pretty quickly. People have also been known to fall asleep and pass out if they stay in hot tubs too long."

My throat was dry and my voice cracked when I spoke. "We didn't realize it had been that long." Adam's eyes darted to the large clock on the wall, but didn't say anything. He nodded and added "I understand. You just lost track of time. It happens." I returned his warm smile.

The way he spoke made me feel completely at ease. There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice, whatsoever. He seemed completely genuine and non-judgemental. I wanted to ask Edward what he thought of him, but it would have to wait until we had some time alone again... If I would even remember that, the next time we were alone.

We stepped out of the hot tub and dried off before following Adam to a new section of the spa.

"You're more than welcome to return to the hot tubs after you've had a chance to let your body temperature come back down. Would you like to do your sugar scrub, now?" Adam asked me. Remembering that Edward was in the room, he addressed him next "Edward, feel free to stay if you like. You're more than welcome to sit in on the session. This is nothing too invasive or uncomfortable. It's mostly a deep cleansing for her arms and legs that will leave her feeling refreshed and energized. I can have something set up for you at the same time, so you aren't just siting out, if you'd like..."

Edward shook his head and responded "No thank you, Adam. I think I might just take a little walk and stretch my legs out for a while. I need to get Bella something to eat anyway."

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. I had forgotten to eat in my excitement.

"I trust you and I'm sure she is in good hands. What time should I come back?" Edward smiled at me and blew me a little kiss while Adam answered him.

"If you give us about a half hour, she will be all set. In the meantime, there is a cafe..." he gave Edward the specifics while I zoned out momentarily.

Edward pulled me into his arms before leaving and briefly kissed me, careful not to ignite my passion again.

"Why are you really leaving right now, Edward?" I asked in a barely audible voice.

He pulled me in for a hug and whispered in my ear. "It'll be ok. I have been listening to his thoughts and he is a very decent guy. He thinks you're pretty, - obviously. Who doesn't? But he has respect for us and isn't going to try anything funny with you while I'm gone. I will return with some food for you. I also need to go check my phone. I'm out of range to hear them, but I've got a feeling that with Jasper's heightened sense of emotion I've probably got about fifty voicemails waiting for me. I love you. I'll see you in a half hour."

His eyes were filled with laughter as he walked out of the room. I immediately started to miss him.

_A/N: I know - please don't get on my case about how you were all hoping for a longer chapter. It is 1:10AM.. My husband went to bed without me and I stayed up so I could finish this and get it out to you ASAP - because I love all of you! Well, I try to give the readers what they want as long as it doesn't veer too much from my outlined storyline. You said you couldn't get enough of Edward in the speedo and you wanted a little more from him... Did I deliver? Oh, how I love Edward when he is in the mood. And if you think I covered just about all they can safely do without actualy having sex - you haven't seen anything yet!!! I am trying real hard to keep that T rating on my story. And yeah- Adam is a nice guy. He is gonna get a little more time in the next installment. The next installment should end with the massage that you have all been so patiently waiting for. Thank you! I can't wait for you guys to read it, too!!!! Review if you're still on board with me!!_


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I'm not going to waste any time.. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Yes- that's it this time.. Now, for being so kind - here is a super, SUPER, long chapter for you guys - taking you where you've been waiting to go...

Ch 26

Adam followed my gaze and stated "He'll be back before you know it. And hopefully you'll relax and have such a nice time that you won't even have a chance to miss him. Just leave all your cares to me. No worries while you're here, ok?"

I could tell he was trying to keep me happy and I wondered if that was his nature. To try to fix everything and please people. I smiled to reassure him that I was ok, but I wasn't sure if the smile reached my eyes. I kept telling myself it would be fine. I could survive a half hour without Edward if I had to.

Adam sat me down in a chair with a swivel and handed me a remote that was attached to the side. "Here you go." He said it like I should've known what to do. I looked at the little remote and gently placed it in my lap, assuming that he wanted me to keep it from dangling and interfering with whatever he needed to do.

"Well...I guess you don't _have_ to use it if you don't want to, of course. I just thought you might like the soothing sensation on your back while you get your treatment."

I stared at all of the buttons and exclaimed "Oh!!! So..this is for my back?! I'm sorry. I didn't know what to... I don't even know how to- " I fumbled around hitting buttons, trying to get the thing to do whatever it was supposed to be doing.

Adam lightly laughed as he came to my assistance. "I'm sorry. That's my fault. I forgot that you haven't been to a spa before. Ok, so this is the power button..." he said, pointing it out to me. "And these other buttons alternate directions and type of pulse or kneading on your back. It's really very soothing."

I turned the remote to the 'on' position and sank back into the chair as the internal pressure sensors gently rolled up and down over my back. "Ah, that's nice - Thank you!! You're right. I am liking this too much to be stressed out about anything" I said, causing Adam to swell with pride.

"Ok, you enjoy that for just a minute, while I get the soothing arm and leg gels. I'll be right back." He promised as he walked to the far end of the room to search through cabinets for his supplies.

"Ah." I heard a light sigh and turned to realize Caitlin was leaning against the door frame. She wasn't ignoring me, but her eyes were focused on Adam who was making silly faces and juggling different bottles of ointments and gels for our amusement.

We both clapped for him as he threw four bottles into the air, spun around quickly, and then caught them before they hit the ground. I wondered if circus clown had been his first job choice and this was just something he did to tide him over until his big break.

"Isn't he amazing?!" Caitlin asked, her eyes glazed over in a dreamlike trance.

"Ha! You like him!" I gasped and stared at her face, waiting for her to try to deny it.

"Shhh!!" she hissed as Adam made his way back to us. I couldn't help but stare back and forth between their faces, smiling.

"Oh, hi, Caitlin. Something I can help you with?" Adam asked, pleasantly.

"Uh, no... Actually.. I um.. was wondering if...uh.. you needed any help in here, but since it is just Bella you've probably got it all under control and don't really need me .. so... I guess I'll be going.." She was floundering. Her cheeks turned pink and I wondered if Adam was really as oblivious as he seemed.

I knew that they'd be perfect if they were ever to get together, but I wasn't sure if Adam felt the same way for her that she obviously felt about him. "Hey, Adam..." I started, hatching a plan. "I wonder if it would be too much to have Caitlin stay in here with us. I enjoy her company. Can she sit in the chair next to me so I can have a little girl talk?"

"Oh..Bella...I don't know if I should just be sitting around. Much as I like talking to you, too , there's always work to be done.." she stammered and I realized I would have to pull rank on her.

"Caitlin! Didn't Joey say that I was to be able to have access to any one of the staff I felt comfortable with?" I looked her in the eyes and tried to convey a stern, but friendly gesture.

Adam didn't know what to make of that. "Should _I _leave, then, Bella?" he asked in a hurt tone.

I was making a mess of the plan. Apparently I had to spell it out for them. I turned to Adam "No, That's not what I meant! I don't want _either_ of you to go.. I just.. wanted Caitlin to have the session with me. You know. I'm pretending we came here together as friends and we are getting the same treatment..That is - if it isn't too much trouble for you to take care of two people at once. I don't want to overload you or be a burden on you."

Adam still looked a little confused, but at least he wasn't arguing about it. "You're not a burden at all. And, technically, today you and Edward are our bosses, Bella...So if that's what you want, who are we to refuse?"

He took Caitlin's hand and sat her in the swivel chair next to me and said "It's a great idea, Caitlin. You're always such a workaholic. I'm actually glad Bella suggested this for you, because you never take the time out to do nice things for yourself and if anyone deserves to be pampered, it's you." He smiled at her and I could tell she was melting inside.

"Adam? Can you do Caitlin first, so I can kinda see how it's done?" I asked. I wasn't sure what I was doing. I'd never played matchmaker before and I didn't know if it was something I should even mess with. What if my plan backfired? They still had to work together.

Any fears I had went out the window as Adam turned from me and bowed his head to Caitlin before he knelt down in front of her. He touched the bottom of her white pants cuff and asked softly "May I?"

She nodded, not able to speak. Adam carefully rolled her pants up above her knees and spun her chair around 180 degrees and placed her feet into the foot soak as he hit a button to turn on the jets.

"I can't forget about your friend, though. Give me just a minute and I'll be right back to you." I detected a playful note in his voice as he winked at her. He turned back to me and said "Bella, if you're ready, all you have to do is pull your robe up a bit so the bottom doesn't hang into the water when I turn you around, ok?"

"Ok." I said, lifting the robe up and gathering the extra length in my lap. When I had a good hold on it, Adam spun me around and once again I was facing the same direction as Caitlin.

Adam smiled shyly as he rubbed the eucalyptus spearmint lotion up and down Caitlin's arms, taking an extra long time when he came to her hands and fingers. I went next. When he rubbed my fingers with the lotion, the attention to detail wasn't quite as enhanced. I noticed his hand didn't linger on mine as it had with Caitlin. I wanted to tell her about my observation, but couldn't say anything with Adam there, so instead we decided to get to know each other a little better. I had filled Caitlin in on my whole life, while leaving out certain details like Edward and his family being vampires. The whole process took less than ten minutes. I realized I hadn't lived very much as Caitlin told me about her life in Ireland before coming to America, just two years ago.

It was an interesting and somewhat heartbreaking story. Caitlin and Kayleigh's parents had died in a drunk driving accident in County Cork eight years ago, leaving both of the girls to live with their aunt until they were old enough to come to the States to build new lives and new memories.

It explained a lot about their personalities, but still didn't make me like Kayleigh.  
The way I saw it, she made a conscious decision to be the way she was. It was easier to accept the role of victim than of victor, and she had taken the easy way out. Caitlin had become more sympathetic and tolerant following their parent's deaths while Kayleigh had turned pessimistic and bitter.

Adam finished washing the sugar scrub off of our legs and started to apply an icy cool gel as we spoke. Caitlin blushed a little as Adam rubbed her legs. I could tell it was nerve racking for her to have Adam touching her while I was there, knowing how much she would secretly like it. I wanted to break the ice a little more so I turned to Caitlin and said "Well..it seems like we've talked about everything except...Adam!"

I saw Caitlin's face fall for a moment as she misunderstood my intentions. She probably thought I was going to say something stupid and tip Adam off to how much she liked him. I spoke quickly to ease her nervousness.

"We've talked so much about us girls, and told a lot of our dirt, but I bet there are probably some juicy or scandalous Adam stories floating around here, somewhere. You can't possibly be as innocent and low profile as you seem." I said, addressing Adam.

Adam fidgeted as Caitlin got a huge smile on her face. "Oh, but he _IS_ that innocent... in fact his naivity is to blame for his one little embarassing thing that happened when Adam first came on board here...!!" She looked to Adam's face for permission.

He sighed and hung his head. "Oh, great.. Well, she's probably going to end up hearing about it somehow. It might as well be while I'm here so I can make sure it isn't exaggerated. In my defense, I honestly didn't know what was going on, ok??? Alright, go ahead." He nodded at Caitlin.

At the end of the story we were all laughing so hard I almost peed myself. "How did you _NOT_ know?! I met Benjamin for.. like.. five seconds and I knew he was gay."

"I was new in town and he said he would introduce me to some nice guys in the neighborhood. I thought he meant I was going to have some new poker buddies or something. I never assumed he was taking me to a gay bar."

Caitlin held her sides. "So, how many men tried to bring you home with them again, that night?" she roared.

"Luckily, not very many. I don't drink alcohol, so that kinda turns people off a little. And while red hair looks beautiful on a woman.." he paused there and smiled at Caitlin as she blushed and lowered her head "..apparently it _isn't_ very attractive on a man."

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Caitlin countered. The adoring look on her face suited her nicely. Everything was moving along smoothly. All they needed was a chance to talk without me hanging around like some awkward third wheel.

My whole body felt wonderfully relaxed by the time Adam had finished and surprisingly, we had only set him back about five minutes with Caitlin and I both getting the treatment. When I noticed that Edward hadn't returned yet, I used that excuse as my opportunity to leave them alone in the room together.

"I'm just going to step out for a minute. I want to see if Edward came back yet, and I think I'd like to take a walk around and see a little more of the facility."

"No problem. Do you remember how to get back or would you like me to show you?"Adam offered, out of obligation.

"Thanks, but it's not necessary. I think I remember how to get back. Just down this hallway and then a couple of quick turns?"

He nodded his head and then reminded me that Joey would be calling everyone back into the Colloseum waiting area whenever we were ready to make our selections for the massage class.

"Ok. By the way, I'm going to choose both of you to be our massage instructors, if you're wanting to do it." I offered.

Caitlin's face became serious and she said "Thanks for thinking of us, but actually the way it works is you will only be able to choose the _lady_ you want teaching you your portion of the technique. Edward will choose the man! And although I appreciate your vote of confidence, I admit that I am not the best choice for the couple's massage. No offense, but If I were in your shoes, I would pick Nikolina, instead. She is the most qualified and she is a sweetheart and easy to get along with. You also don't have to worry about feeling uncomfortable with her touching Edward because she will keep it strictly professional. She is engaged to Joey, and as far as she is concerned, he is the only man on the planet."

I smiled appreciatively. I was liking Nikolina more and more with each new piece of information I learned about her. "Well, if you reccomend her, then I'll try her. And if I had to guess - I'm guessing that Edward will probably pick you, Adam. He can get really protective with me around other men and he trusts you.. Of course, Edward has surprised me a lot today, so there's a chance he might just pick Joey instead. I don't really know. We'll just have to wait and see."

I realized again how famished I was when my stomach growled. It was my cue to leave. I wandered the hallways and realized I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere when nothing looked familiar. Thankfully I heard a familiar voice and called out "Edward!"

I came around the corner to find Edward holding a bag of food and looking extremely fed up with Benjamin who was posing with his hands on his rear end as he puffed his chest out in a way that he probably thought made him look alluring. It might've been pretty funny if Edward hadn't looked so repulsed by it.

"There you are. I missed you. I've been thinking about you, _nonstop!_" I said running over and kissing him, which caused Benjamin to let out a little sound of disgust and walk away.

"Thank you for the intervention. I was trying hard not to hit him. I had just gotten back and was on my way over to see you, when I got sidetracked by Gay Romeo over there who wanted to know if I was interested in having a guy's night out sometime."

I couldn't control myself. I burst into laughter, remembering Adam's story. "So, let me guess.. he wanted to take you to a gay bar?" I asked, muffling my laughs a little.

Edward's face lifted in surprise. "He didn't actually come and out and say that, but he was _thinking_ it. How did you know that?"

"Apparently he has tricked quite a few poor, unsuspecting, souls with that one." I admitted, taking the bag of food from Edward as we walked down the hall to a little rest area with several plush couches. "So, how crazy over you is he? Do I have to hurt him?" I joked.

"No. I just made it very clear where my sexual preferences lie. For his part, he has never acted inappropriately or tried to force himself on anyone, but he has some sick fantasies about me and Joey... at the same time... And tranquilizer guns are involved. Do I have to say any more than that?"

My face turned green and I shook my head. Thankfully I was hungry enough that the talk hadn't killed my appetite. I ate the turkey sub Edward had gotten me and quickly downed the tomato basil soup that came with it.

"Much better." I purred as I fell back into Edward's arms.

Caitlin and Adam came into view, smiling and holding hands. They tried to quickly let go of each other as they saw us, but the cat was already out of the bag. Even when they weren't holding hands or nonchalantly rubbing an arm or foot against each other, the glances between the two of them were enough to give them away.

Edward scanned their faces and then turned to me and cocked an eyebrow, all the while, not saying anything. "I'l tell you later." I murmured under my breath.

"Are you two ready for your massage class?" Caitlin asked.

"Shall we?" Edward asked, holding his hand out to help me up off of the couch. We followed Caitlin and Adam back to the waiting area where they went to take their places in line as Joey entered the room.

"I hope you have been enjoying yourselves today and are finding our services and the staff accomodating. Before we ask for your staff choices for the couple's massage, I have to make an announcement. Carolina has had a family emergency and had to go home. Bella -I'm sorry if she was going to be your choice. I hope one of the other highly qualified ladies here can help you. Also, if either you or Edward will be liking any drinks brought into the room with you, please let us know now, so we can prepare." Joey looked back and forth between us as we declined the drink offer.

"Ok. Well then, are you ready to make your selection?" he asked, his face full of enthusiasm. I scanned the other faces in the room.

Caitlin and Adam smiled warmly. Nikolina also smiled sweetly, though she was a little more reserved. Benjamin was staring at Edward who refused to look back at him. I frowned a little at that. Kayleigh had a venomous look on her face that told me she hadn't come around at all since the last time I saw her. The last face was Seth. He exuded untamed masculinity and confidence and something in his eyes told me that he could probably back up all of his talk. I was a little upset at myself for liking his bad boy image so much when I had the epitome of a perfect man standing right next to me.

"I loved the time spent getting to know Caitlin.." I saw Kayleigh roll her eyes at that, but I ignored it and continued. "..so, since I value her opinion, I am going with her reccomendation and choosing Nikolina."

Nikolina stepped forward, smiling, and nodded her head a little, accepting what was clearly meant as a tribute to her. I felt relieved when my part was done. Now it all came down to Edward's choice.

"I'd like to say thank you to all of you for helping make this such a wonderful day for us. You've got a great team here, Joey. I have to say how especially fortunate you were to have gotten Adam. He is an excellent addition and has been a true gentleman today. I appreciate all the extra things you did for us..." Edward paused as I caught Adam's eye and winked. I was so sure he would pick him. "...so, it's no discredit to Adam and it's definitely nothing personal...but I think my choice for the massage class would have to be...Seth!"

"WHAT?!?!" Kayleigh and I both screamed at the same time. If looks could kill, I'd have been dead. I think Kayleigh was still considering killing me with her bare hands, anyway. A slow string of profanities were spewing out of her mouth as she turned and stormed out of the room. I thought I heard her cry out 'selfish bitch' as she left.

Seth smirked and I felt my heart race again. What was wrong with me?

"Is there a problem?" Edward questioned Joey.

"I am so sorry for that scene! No, there are no problems at all. I hope we can still continue on?" he looked at us with uncertainty in his eyes. Edward nodded. "Please accept my most sincere apologies. That is not the type of behavior we encourage or permit here at the Olympic Day Spa. Believe me, I will be counseling Kayleigh, later to see if she will remain on staff with me. Now I have to ask - Are you both SURE about the choices you've made?" I felt Joey looking at Edward as he asked the question.

"Yes." Edward answered for both of us.

"Um...Edward?! Can I talk to you over here for a minute, please?" I pulled him aside, out of earshot of everyone else and asked "What in the hell are you doing!? You were supposed to pick Adam!"

He laughed softly and replied "Yeah. I was going to, but Adam doesn't do for you what Seth does. And I want you excited for this. Your pulse almost doubles when you look at him. He's got self esteem by the bucket loads and I know that's an aphrodisiac for you. You are attracted to confidence in a man. Choosing Seth is going to make it that much more interesting, don't you think? Don't worry, love. I know you don't mean anything by it. It is just a simple, physical attraction that isn't going anywhere, so let's see if we can have some fun with it, shall we? Besides, you've monopolized Adam enough for one day. Let him enjoy his break with Caitlin since you obviously worked pretty hard to set that little plan in motion. What's the matter?? Don't you think Seth is up for the job...??"

That phrase alone sent my heart pounding. Edward laughed. "See what I mean? You can hardly control it. If you're going to be touched, it should be by someone with a steady hand who knows how to do it."

Edward walked back toward the line as I stood frozen in place. I couldn't believe my ears. Was he was the same Edward I'd come here with?! I hurried to catch up to him as he stepped forward and shook Seth's hand and said something to him that I missed. I noticed Seth tighten his grip and Edward do the same as they both smiled evil smiles. My head was already spinning from the amount of testosterone in the air.

Nikolina sauntered over to me and followed my line of sight as she shook her head. "Men!" she muttered good humoredly, her arms crossed playfully over her chest. Edward and Seth walked up to us and I started to get butterflies in my stomach at sight of them side by side and at the prospect of what was going to happen.

"So, Bella and I have determined that we definitely like the Australian Sandalwood oils. Any possibility of using those for the massage?" Edward asked in a not-so-innocent way.

Seth looked knowingly at me, and smiled widely, causing me to squirm. "Sandalwood, huh? That's _HOT!!_ ..Yeah... I understand the choice and ...I can definitely make that happen for you!"

Why was everything he said sounding like a sexual innuendo?

"If both of you would like to head into the massage room right there. Those are the Grand Suites of the spa. They are the only rooms in here that aren't Roman inspired. Each one has it's own individual theme. I think you'll like that one." Nikolina motioned to the room. "Edward, go ahead and disrobe. You're up first. The large heated towels are already waiting at the foot of each massage table for you. Just lie down and place the warm towel over yourself, covering you from your lower back down. We will get the rest of the supplies and be right in."

I grabbed Edward's hand and headed into the massage suite with him, glad he was going first. At the front of the room on a small table sat a hot oil lamp with a single tea light next to it and a miniature Japanese water garden where water was continually being refiltered as it ran down a flight of little steps made out of bamboo. Traditional Japanese music played in the background. The irony was that the music was mostly played on bamboo flutes. It seemed that no detail was overlooked. The focal point was the two long black massage tables resembling beds in the center of the room, each with a red cotton cover and pillow on them. It blended perfectly with the rest of the subtle Japanese cherry blosom motif. I immediately found the oversized, heated towels that Nikolina had mentioned. The stitching of the monogram and logo in the corner gave them a luxurious feel and look.

I watched as Edward kicked off his slippers and then slowly opened and closed his robe in a striptease style dance before he slowly shimmied out out of it and folded it, to place it at the foot of his bed.

"That was hot! I wish I had some dollar bills right now.." I giggled as he moved closer and kissed my lips while untying my robe. When I felt the confines fall to the floor, Edward threw his arms around my waist and picked me up as I wrapped my legs around him to hold on.

He kissed me roughly, moving from my lips, down my chin, and to my throat. That wonderful sensation of getting lost in him was returning, but something told me we were running out of time.

"Edward..they'll be...coming in here...any...minute...now...oh, right there is good..." It was getting harder and harder to make sense as one of his hands held the back of my head and he tilted me back while he deeply kissed my neck. "...shouldn't you get...ready before they...find us...like this?"

His lips returned to mine. "We've got about forty five seconds left until they reach that door. Be quiet and enjoy it!" He commanded in between kisses.

The forty five seconds were over before I knew it. I heard the knock on the door at the same time that Edward lowered me back to the floor. He picked my robe up and placed it back over my shoulders and then scurried onto his massage table, laid down on his stomach, and covered his lower torso so that I could barely see his hips sticking out over the top of his towel.

"Ready!" he yelled to our teachers waiting patiently just outside the door.

I hadn't fully recovered from the intoxication when they walked into the room. Nikolina smirked as she saw my hand gripping the edge of my massage bed for support. She poured a few drops of concentrated Sandalwood oil into the little lamp and lit the candle as she placed it in the reservoir underneath. Her smile quickly faded and she drew in a sharp, ragged breath as she turned and noticed the half naked Edward lying on the other table.

I realized that she was the only staff member besides Joey, to have seen Edward without his robe on. I grinned proudly. No woman was immune.

She shook her head, probably trying to clear the image, and recovered pretty quickly, considering. "Ok, Edward, I am going to teach Bella how to massage you, first, so just get comfortable and relax. We also brought some bottled waters in anyway, just because this generally goes for almost three hours. You might need it by the time this is over."

"I am completely relaxed and ready when you ladies are!" Edward said taking long exxagerated breaths. I was the exact opposite of relaxed.

"You'll _definitely_ need some cool water by the time I'm done." Seth looked me up and down. " It's about to get hot!! Let's get this party started .. whatta ya say?"

I went to stand next to Nikolina and jumped when I felt Seth brush against me slightly as he walked past me to the other side. I was certain that the contact hadn't been accidental. I felt my face getting hot and hoped Nikolina wouldn't comment on it.

Fortunately she was composed and had a passion for her work. "First you apply the selected oils or lotions to the skin to make it soft and manageable..." She squirted some oil on Edward's back and jumped back a little as her hands made contact with his bare skin."Oh my. You're so cold. The tables are heated, but if you have the same skin condition as Jasper and Emmett, that's not going to help... I guess this is normal for you?"

"Yep. Skin condition. Sorry if I'm freezing your hands off." Edward muttered, probably happy to be able to explain the situation in a somewhat normal way.

"Oh, no problem. It's not so bad, actually." Nikolina replied. Everything else about his body was out of the ordinary. Why not the temperature, too?

She went into explaining the different techniques and I tried each one after her, careful to mimic her precise movements. Edward making little moaning noises at my touch didn't help with my nerves.

"Now, with this one, you're going to want to create a little friction by jostling your hands and arms like this as you gently rub and tap. The vibrations will soothe any tension. Of course... Edward doesn't seem to be tense at all. That's unusual. Most men carry some stress in the core of certain muscles..."

Nikolina had a confused look on her face as I smoothly ran my hands across the muscles of Edward's shoulders and down his back, loving the familiarity.

"You'll like this last part." she began "Hold one hand on his back. Steady.. now make your other hand into a fist and turn the fist sideways on his lower back. Slowly rub in circular motions, from the inside out. You're going to want to get the top of his buttocks for this too.."

"Just explain it to me and I'll do it!!" I drew the line there. I had been adult about this and was behaving myself, but I hadn't even touched Edward's naked ass yet and I was damned if I was going to let anyone else get to it before me.

She had me drape the towel over the top of his back and thankfully conceded that his speedo was low enough that it didn't need to come off completely. Edward did a push up onto his knees on the table and lowered his speedo a fraction of an inch before lying back down.

My heart stopped for a split second as I looked at his mostly naked form in front of me. "Bella, are you ok?" I faintly heard Nikolina's voice ask me.

"I...was doing fine...and then he did that push up, didn't he?...now...he's...almost naked..." The words wouldn't come out right.

Nikolina and Seth both laughed lightly at my stunned face. "That's nothing." Seth laughed.

"Just go ahead and I'll tell you if you're dong it right." Nikolina replied. I reached down with both hands and grabbed Edward's ass, hard. He flexed under my hands and I let go as Nikolina gently scolded me.

"No! You don't want to do it like that. That was _squeezing_. Try again. Remember to keep one hand on his back and roll that other hand into a fist...Better!"

"Awww..I kinda liked the _Grabby Hands_ one..." Edward's silky voice cried out. I was finding all new levels of embarassment today.

I did as Nikolina instructed and knew I'd gotten it right as both she and Edward exhaled deeply.

I massaged Edward for more than an hour and my hands started to feel a little numb by the time I was done, but I couldn't complain. I had touched more of him in that hour than ever before. I knew he had only allowed it because Nikolina was there to prevent me from going over board and de-pantsing him completely. There'd be no coming back from that one.

He stood and faced me as his session ended and slowly pulled up the speedo so I couldn't see his hips anymore. I frowned and whispered softly under my breath to Edward. "It was so much nicer when they were coming _down_..."

His eyes sparkled and he gave me a dazzling smile before terrifying me with "Your turn."

Seth rubbed his hands together and mentioned a special version of an Indian Sandalwood oil that I might like. He added that he was going to step out of the room to give me privacy to get under the towel. He and Nikolina stepped out and closed the door.

The second they were out of the room I turned to Edward. "I can't wait to get you alone like that, again -"

He interrupted. "There's not enough time, now. Besides, the next time should be our wedding night, don't you think?"

I groaned as he kept talking. "Don't look at me like that... you're breaking my heart. It's just as frustrating for me, but one of us has to have some self control and it doesn't look like it's going to be you..."

"Ah...My 'Sane Edward' is back, I see. You know that I love you either way, but I was hoping for just a little more time with 'Promiscuous Edward' "

"Sometimes I think you love _him_ more." Edward said, softly.

"No. I couldn't possibly choose between the two. I need them both to balance me out. I just wanted to get to know him a little better. He's so very elusive."

"Hmm, this ought to make you happy. I've seen Seth's mind and If you thought my treatment was intoxicating... well... let's just say you're going to be stuck with 'Horny Edward' for another hour or so, at least."

My face lit up and I quickly dropped my robe and kicked my slippers across the room. Edward lifted me onto my massage bed and laid me face-down as he draped my heated towel over my rear end. The warmth from the massage table and the towel made me almost able to relax until Seth knocked and came back into the room.

I lifted my head a little off my pillow and noticed Nikolina hadn't come back in. "Where's Nikolina?" I asked, concerned.

"Probably back with Joey by now." Seth grinned allowing the implications to make themselves clear. "Usually the first masseur stays in for the second session too, but Edward had mentioned to me earlier that she didn't need to stay for this part, so I let her know. She's actually pretty happy to have time to do...some other things...for a little while."

Seth walked past Edward and traced his hands down my back in a too familiar way, causing a surge of energy in me. "Wait! Something's not right. What's this?" he asked as he picked up the thin string of my bikini that was tied around my back.

"You still have your top on?" he grimaced.

"Of course... I assumed... I mean...Well - Edward kept his clothes on!!" I shouted and pointed at Edward as if that was going to help my argument.

Seth looked back at Edward and scoffed. "That's because his can hardly be considered clothing in the first place."

I detected a note of something...jealousy?

"Why did you think I left the room and gave you the privacy?? It wasn't because I was giving you time to disrobe into your bathing suit!!'

"So, does her top need to be off for this?" Edward asked, tongue in cheek. I knew by his face what the answer would be and I knew that Edward had known it all along.

"Yes. It most definitely needs to come off!"

Sneaky Edward. I'd show him. "My hands are a little shaky right now. Maybe you could help untie the strings for me, Seth?" I asked sweetly as I flattened myself to the table.

I felt his fingers running up to the string as he leaned over and whispered in my ear "I'd be more than happy to take care of your undoing.."

There was no mistaking the double meaning there. He was definitely a player. I wondered how many women he'd turned to mush on these tables.

Edward cleared his throat and pushed Seth out of the way, causing a little tension on my bikini string in the process. "No offense, you can teach the massage techniques, but I'll be the only one undressing her."

Edward's cool, smooth hands worked their way up my sides, and slowly lingered on my bikini strap, causing me to break out in goosebumps. And then I felt the string being untied as I sucked in a breath. I had a delicious moment of dejavue as he moved my hair away from my back, parting it to one side so he could have access to my neck and the only other string still holding my bikini top onto me. He kissed the back of my neck as he let the string drop.

I was acutely aware of the fact that I was lying topless in a room with two very good looking, very sexually potent men who were about to take turns puting their hands on me.

I gulped and summoned up all of my courage as I raised myself up slightly, careful not too expose too much of my bare chest. I pulled my bikini top out from under me and handed it to Edward.

"Let's get down to business. Indian Sandalwood.." Seth smiled as he drizzled the oil onto me and glanced sideways at Edward to be sure he was watching. "Now, you're going to want a nice Swedish massage for her, I'm thinking. It always starts the same way... with long... gliding... strokes..." he accentuated each word in a way that was making me squirm with an overwhelming excitement.

His hands played over my back and neck, expertly. The oil he had dripped onto my back started to heat up on contact, causing tingling sensations to rip through my body as I moaned softly. "Oooh, babe, you're still a little too tense. Let's fix that for you." Seth muttered.

"Oh..." I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling. I knew immediately when Edward had taken over because the hot oil mixed perfectly with the cold from his hands there was more intensity in the touch itself.

Seth's voice broke my concentration with his next sentence. "Ok, good. Now, just continue that motion down her body. You can drape the towel over her mid section as you move to her ass and legs. You don't want her to get cold - at least not while she's lying on her stomach..." he added that last part and laughed lightly as Edward moved the towel up and corrected him.

"No. I don't need her getting cold at all. That would be uncomfortable for her. Remember above all else that this isn't for you. It's for _her!!_ And I'm paying you a lot of money to make her happy - so make her happy. But keep one thing in the back of your runaway mind. You're only warming her up. She is still going home with me."

Seth frowned briefly. He obviously wasn't used to being talked to that way. He didn't like getting beaten at his own game but unfortunately for him, Edward would always be the alpha male in any situation he was in so Seth had just better get used to it. "CRAP!! " he cursed and shook his head as Edward lifted my towel to reveal my bikini bottoms. " Well, I don't know why I'm surprised. You didn't take the top off, so why would the bottom be any different."

"I'm guessing you'll want Edward to take that off of you, too?" He asked, holding onto a faint glimmer of hope that I'd let him do the job.

"You got that right." I replied and wrapped the large towel around me in the front, covering me very modestly before I stood up and faced Edward. I kept one hand clutched at the fold of towel covering my chest and I opened the rest, revealing my body from the stomach down. I kept my back to Seth so his view was blocked which made him groan softly.

Then I said loudly "You know what to do, Edward. Help me get naked."

Edward's eyes flew open wide in surprise. I knew I was probably giving up my one opportunity, but after the way he had defended me, I wanted him to know that I wasn't going to trick him and try to take advantage of him. I said under my breath "I'll close the towel around me as soon as you take it off. Just don't look for a minute. And _don't_ let Seth massage my ass, when I get back on that table. If anyone's going to do that part, I want it to be you. I promise to be good if you do..."

He smiled, took a breath of relief, and nodded in acceptance of my deal as the charade continued. "Come here, baby." Edward flaunted and kept an evil smile directed at Seth the whole time while he felt his way up to my hips and pulled my bikini bottoms down to my ankles by the silver rings on either side.

He leaned in and kissed me quickly and whispered "Thank you." before I slid back onto the massage table and released the towel so that it once again draped loosely over my backside.

I knew there was no way to avoid having my bare ass seen by both men. I was just thankful that Edward covered as much of me as possible over the next half hour as he finished doing the massage. I lost a bit of my inhibition at the end and when Seth announced the close of the session, I quickly stood up without worrying about the towel. I kept my back to both men, but figured they had already seen this much of me anyway. Might as well make their last few moments worthwhile.

I slowly put my suit back on in the order it had come off, pulling up the bikini bottom first, then reaching back behind me without turning around as Edward handed me the top. I finished tying the last string around my neck and spun around to find both Edward and Seth in the same painful stance with their mouths wide open.

Seth let out a low whistle and spoke to Edward. "Seriously man -Thank you so much for that...I've had some hot ones on those tables, but she takes the cake with that little number. She's probably the only girl I've ever had in here who was just as sexy puting her clothes BACK on..._A-ma-zing_!"

"You don't have to tell me. I'm in bed with her every night and she's still finding ways to amaze me!" Edward punched Seth in the arm and let him digest that as I grabbed my last bottled water and we walked out of the room, together.

_A/N: Hope you like it.. They will be leaving the spa in the next chapter and heading back home to Charlie and the burnt kitchen.. or will they?? Anyway - because everyone was nice and patient, that chapter was over three times as long as the previous one! Good things come to those who wait. I dedicate it to every reader who has ever brightened my day with a funny or touching review or private message.. Thanks for keeping me going, guys!! By the way - I hope none of my devoted readers are ditching gymnastics practice right now to read this.. you little devil. You know who you are... Just go to school and the practices ...It'll be there waiting for you when you get home. _


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the owner of Twilight and our wondefully sexy Edward. Lucky lady.. Thank goodness she doesn't mind us borrowing him from time to time. I think I'd go crazy otherwise. (ok fine - craziER)

Ch 27

I exchanged phone numbers with Caitlin and Adam and hugged them goodbye as Edward handed out envelopes with tips to each staff member. I wondered what Edward would think about going on a double date with them sometime. I said a quick thank you to Joey and Nikolina and looked around one last time. Kayleigh hadn't come back, but I knew she wasn't getting a tip from Edward, anyway, and I didn't relish the thought of having to deal with her again.

I'd saved Seth for last. Even though I hadn't asked Seth for his number or made any plans to stay in touch, he insisted on making it known that he wasn't exactly the type of stand-up guy who called the girl the next day.

"Although, maybe next time you come to the spa, I can get you into the full body massage." Seth whispered as he pulled me in for a not-so-innocent hug and then threw his arms in the air and asked "What?" as Edward scowled at him.

"Your services are no longer required today, Seth." Edward sternly warned him.

Seth didn't say another word to me, but his eyes spoke volumes and stayed on me until Edward and I walked to the car and drove away.

"So. What did you think of that reward?" Edward asked me while looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you kidding?! That was so...intense, to say the least!! I feel so free and uninhibited after that. I let go of a lot of my hangups in there. I don't know how you manage to do it but each gift ends up being better than the one before it!" I said enthusiastically.

"It does get a little difficult to constantly try to outdo myself each time. My next gift won't be quite as ...dazzling. Actually, I've been planning this next surprise for a very long time and I hope you aren't disappointed. It isn't pleasurable in the way you usually associate it. I really wanted to do something lasting for you, though." Edward said and looked deep into my eyes, making me swoon.

"Edward!! Watch the road!!" I yelled as I noticed his eyes were still on me and he was driving a hundred twenty miles an hour.

He laughed and reminded me "One day you're going to love driving this fast, I promise!"

Something in my subconcious mind was triggered and I was suddenly very curious about what had happened in the forty minutes that Edward had been away from me at the spa. I knew it couldn't have taken him that long to get my lunch.

"Hey, I was wondering. What were you up to when I was with Adam and Caitlin?" I threw out and waited.

"What makes you think I was up to something?" he asked defensively.

"Because you haven't said one word about it and I know it doesn't take you forty minutes to get lunch. So, are you going to tell me or are we going to have to play twenty questions?" I asked, joking.

"I think I'll go with twenty questions. By the way, you've got eighteen left." He was being a smart ass. That confirmed it.

"You WERE up to something!! Edward Cullen, why are you being so secretive?!" I wondered if I could make him cave and start talking just like I'd done to Charlie and to Angela. I tried to manipulate him, by staring straight at him, but he, being the master of manipulations himself, kept his eyes on the road, avoiding my gaze.

"I told you what I was going to do. I needed to get your lunch and listen to my voicemails." he answered quickly, but I still had a feeling there was more to it.

"And? Were there a lot?" I asked. It was like pulling teeth to get any information out of him.

"Only forty. I think that's because my mailbox is full." He still wasnt telling me what I wanted to know.

"AND?!!?!" If he wanted to do this one word at a time, I would. I could be pretty persistent when I needed to.

I saw Edward clench his jaw and said "Almost all from Jasper. Here. Why don't you listen." He held in the first button on his phone which I assumed was his speed dial for the voicemail. Then he handed the phone to me and looked expectantly at my face occasionally as he drove.

The first few messages were mostly the same. Jasper pleaded with Edward to calm me down instead of getting me fired up even more because he was having a hard time containing the lustful emotions and was starting to act on them. Instead of letting the lust spill out onto everyone around him, he was taking the feelings all on himself and had started acting on them as a form of release.

Then came the descriptive messages telling Edward exactly how and where he and Alice were giving in to their desires. The teacher's lounge. The janitor's closet. A locked art room. In the voice lessons booth off of the choir room.

It got more outrageous as the messages went on. I disconnected the call when I heard the one about the interactive media center. It put a whole new meaning to interactive. I wondered how Emmett and Rose had held up if Jasper and Alice were that far gone.

I shuddered a little and handed the phone back to Edward, feeling bad for him because I knew he was in for an onslaught when he got home.

"Yeah..." he said, a sick look on his face. "And that was just Jasper and Alice. At least they were careful enough to find locked rooms and inconspicuous places. Emmett and Rose actually had to leave school because Jasper's emotion was seeping out onto them and they aren't as considerate once they get going.

I was still thinking about how crazed everyone must've been when I looked up and realized we were home. Edward pulled into the drive and I gasped when I saw Carlisle's Mercedes GL450 sitting there.

"Carlisle's here?" I asked Edward, confused. "Why? What's going on, Edward?"

"You'll see." He took my hand as we stepped out of the car and walked to the front door.

I opened the door, noticing that it had still been locked, and walked into the living room. Almost instantly, six pairs of eyes were on me.

"Well, this is quite a surprise! What's everyone doing...here...while I've been away...and Charlie's still at work?" I asked, noticing paint on Alice and Carlisle.

"When Edward called us this afternoon and told us that Charlie had burned the kitchen and you both would be needing help, we wanted to do something. Here! Tell us what you think." Esme answered and led me by the hand into the kitchen.

What I saw left me speechless. The kitchen had been almost completely repaired and remodeled. There were stainless steel appliances and new drywall had been put up. I smelled a fresh coat of paint and noticed all of the Tuscan style accents and decor.

"According to Edward, this was the way Charlie had envisioned the new kitchen. We knew that you wouldn't have been able to find a company to do the work in a timely manner..." Esme tactfully explained.

I knew she was politely avoiding the fact that we couldn't have afforded it, either.

"..So... since we were all home for ...various reasons..." she looked at Rose and then at Emmett accusingly. He swung a sledge hammer around, playfully, and tried to pretend he didn't notice her. "...we came over here and renovated. I hope you aren't upset that we intruded. I'm also hoping you and Charlie aren't too proud to accept our help."

"But...I can't take your money and this must've cost a fortune!" I stammered.

"What good is having money if it can't help the ones you love? Besides, it didn't cost that much. We didn't have to pay for any labor because we all did the work, ourselves. Jasper and Emmett are very handy with sledge hammers and power tools, surprisingly. And Alice and Carlisle painted while I installed the new kitchen appliances."

I looked at Rosalie, since she was the only one who hadn't been accounted for. "I supervised." she explained before I could even ask and turned back to watch Emmett as he revved up a power drill. I could tell she was incredibly turned on by the whole thing, because Edward closed his eyes as if in pain and said "Eeew, Rose. Can you please curb those thoughts until you two get home?"

"I don't know what to say..Thank you so much... all of you.." I started to get choked up at the amount of thought that had gone into this. A sane person probably wouldn't have appreciated the sneaking around, breaking and entering to get inside our house, and having used sledge hammers to knock out walls, but luckily for me, my sanity had been slowly slipping ever since meeting the Cullen's.

"So...did you have fun today?" Alice asked, changing the subject. I caught the gleam in her eye and knew she wanted details I wasn't prepared to give while the whole family listened in.

"I had a lot of fun!! I know why you like the spa so much. They told me all about the 'Addictive Alice.' She lifted her chin and smiled a proud smile.

"So..besides this whole having to slave over my kitchen, did you guys have a nice day?" I turned the tables to buy me some time. Alice, however, didn't get embarassed as easily as I did and found a way to bring the subject back.

"Yeah, I know me and Jazz had quite the day, didn't we?" She winked at Jasper and I saw Edward grimace again. "And Emmett and Rose seemed to be having fun from what I could tell. They were loudly expressing some sort of enjoyment, all throughout the house. Of course, I believe Esme and Carlisle had the most fun, out of all of us, today. Or so it sounded." If he'd been human, Edward's face probably would've been a sickly shade of green by now.

"So, did they mention anything about the 'Royal Rosalie' while you were at the spa?" Rose said, suddenly taking a personal interest in the conversation and trying to find a way to make it all about her.

My face turned beet red at her casual mention of everything I'd just gone through for the last seven hours. I knew I couldn't lie and pretend I hadn't heard about it. She'd see through that. Instead, I decided to act casual. "Umm.. yeah.. I did get to learn a little bit about that. Pretty cool having a whole package named after you, huh?" I said, hoping she would drop it.

No such luck. "Yes! So, what'd they tell you, exactly? And - Did you get to meet Seth? Why is your face all red? You do that when you're embarassed or ashamed. What could you possibly have to be -- Oh... You DIDN'T...You... AND EDWARD...tried the 'Royal Rosalie'??"

Alice gasped loudly and threw her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide open with shock. I didn't say anything, which only made the assumptions worse.

Emmett looked back and forth and broke out in a big grin."Well, alright, Edward! Finally!! Welcome to the group!!. I guess that explains why Jasper wasn't able to hold it back this time..." Emmett was rambling and smiling and slapping Edward on the back in a congratulatory manner.

"It's not what you're thinking, Emmett, so calm down with the celebration, already." Edward glared at him.

"It's not what he's thinking?" Rose asked in a confused voice. "But I thought you had the 'Royal Rosalie' ...and all that it entails. Am I missing something here?"

"I altered it a little... of course it did still get a little crazy at the end, there." I let my hair fall over my face a little to hide my embarassment at having this conversation so openly with everyone in the room.

Edward winked at me and explained to Rose "Seth dubbed it the 'Breathtaking Bella' because she did something no one has ever done. What was his exact quote? '.. she looked just as hot puting her clothes back on...' ? I believe that was it."

"So, if you two didn't..." Emmett raised his eyebrows, suggestively. "Oh, crap! I can just imagine how messed up we're going to be when you DO!! You're going to have to give Jasper some advanced warning so we can all take a week off. And maybe go somewhere far away from Carlisle and Esme"

Rose stared at me and for the first time ever, I saw what looked like envy on her face. "So. You picked Seth? Excellent choice. Alice always picks Adam, but he's too timid for what Emmett and I like. You'll have to tell me and Alice everything later." she said, then hungrily looked Emmett up and down and announced "But not right now. I am all of a sudden wanting to get home in a hurry. Emmett, will you take me?" She batted her eyelashes and gave Emmett a brilliant smile.

"Hell yeah, I'll take you! Come on Carlisle. It's time to go!" he said in a rushed frenzy. He was already grabbing at her as they ran out the front door.

I heard Carlisle sigh as he apologized and made a comment about how he'd better get them home before they made the car ride back very uncomfortable for everyone else.

"You know, honey, I think I'm quite ready to get back home, too." Esme said, coyly while tracing her fingers over his back.

"Oh, boy. Here we go again. Alice? Are you with me? " Jasper asked in a pleading tone.

"Where else would I be?" She paused on her way out and leaned in close to me. "Don't think I won't expect a full report tomorrow. I know it had to be good to make Jasper this crazy... Thank you, Bella."

She giggled a little and let Jasper grab her around the waist and throw her over his shoulder in a fireman carry. I started to relax once they were gone, leaving me alone with Edward, again.

I detected a note of something on Edward's face. Melancholy? "Edward, what are you thinking about?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe tonight would be a good time to give you the last reward. I can hear your heartbeat from over here, Bella. I already told you, it's nothing like that. Actually, I hope you and Charlie will like this and that I haven't made a bad decision with this one."

"Charlie?! How does it affect him? Oh - Is the new kitchen my reward?" I asked. "Because if it is, I love it. It was wonderful of you to call your family and arrange this for us on such short noti-"

"No. The kitchen is just something we wanted to do to help out. It was a necessity. I'm not sure how you're going to feel about the actual reward, itself. I have to admit, I'm a little reluctant giving it to you. I don't want things to go bad after such a wonderful day."

I hadn't seen Edward look so torn and tormented since those first few weeks when we'd met and he tried to warn me away from him. I sat on the couch next to him and took his hand in both of mine. "Edward, I love you. That's not going to change and if you've put as much thought into this as you say you have, I'm sure it'll be perfect."

"I just hope it's not too soon. I don't know if you're ready or not."

"Well, I don't know how to answer that since I don't know what it is, so I guess you'll just have to take a chance."

"Ok. But let's wait until Charlie comes home because this affects him, too." Edward said and looked away from me to something outside. I could tell he was deep in thought and I tried to tell myself I had nothing to be nervous about.

_A/N: Ok. I know I promised some of you that I was going to go into the next reward in this chapter instead of stopping it right before Charlie gets home, like this. I know -it's mean to leave cliffie's... but I wanted to let everyone know I'm alive and well because I've been getting messages asking where I am and why I haven't posted anything lately. _

_Well, the reason It's been a little while is because I went and did a foolish thing. I wrote and posted a new story before finishing this one. So now I'm writing BOTH stories and trying to alternate posting new chapters for BOTH of them. I actually like the other story a little better right now. If you haven't read it and you like this one - it might be worth your while to check it out. It's called 'Bon Voyage' and is set on a cruise ship where our favorite female characters are vacationing and hoping for a week of 'no-strings-attached' fun if they can ever meet any men worth their time.. hehe..It's all human, which is different for me, but coming along, nicely._

_As for those of you who just read this chapter and are all like "Oh - he's gonna ask her to marry him!!" NO!! That's not it. If you wanta guess I'll let you know if you're right or wrong. ((Except you, Kim...lol..)) Chances are it's too 'out there' for anyone to get it right away. You're welcome to try, though. Ok - and now I go to finish the next chapter for Bon Voyage. Talk to everyone soon!_


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: Same thing - Different day!! All hail Edward!! Hi Everyone! I've missed you!

Ch 28

"He's almost home, now." Edward said and I started to worry about how the new kitchen was going to go over with Charlie.

"Edward, don't you think Charlie's going to be upset when he sees the kitchen? He doesn't even think that you knew anything about it. His pride is going to get the better of him when he finds out that you and your family fixed it. It'll look like I didn't have confidence that he could've handled it on his own."

Edward smiled a reassuring smile and patted my hand "It'll be fine. Carlisle called Charlie at the station earlier this afternoon and explained that you had sort of mentioned the fire. He told Charlie that some people owed him favors and they could do the work free of charge. He stressed to Charlie that it was no big deal and conveniently left out the fact that the people who owed him the favors were his own family members. Charlie was surprised, but not too stubborn to accept the help when it was so badly needed. He seemed grateful and told Carlisle he would make it up to him, somehow."

"But, does Charlie know it was _already_ done while he was at work, today? And how do I explain how the "workers" got into our house while we were at "school" all day?" I tried to look at the situation objectively and found it highly unlikely that Charlie would be ok with it.

"It's already taken care of. Charlie gave Carlisle the ok to use his key hidden under the potted plant in the back yard. Carlisle explained that he was going to have a crew come out today and ascertain the damage while Charlie was at work. He told Charlie they'd need a way to get into the house and that he and Esme would stay with the crew the whole time to make sure nothing was disturbed. That part's kind of true if you really think about it."

He seemed to have it all covered. I shook my head and laughed. "Have I told you lately that you're amazing and I love you?"

"I think so, but you can say it again if it'll make you feel better...oh. Charlie's walking up now...and five, four, three, two.. "

I watched Edward point to the door and Charlie entered as if on cue.

"Hi kids." he said, looking at Edward and I. For the first time in a long time Charlie didn't scowl or make any rude gestures or noises in Edward's direction. I was impressed and smiled warmly at him. I was taken back when he asked a question directed at both of us. "So, did you guys have fun at school today? Learn anything interesting?"

I stared at my shoes in a guilty manner while Edward spoke for both of us. "Today we learned about various scents and the way they can have different affects on the brain. We had a nice day and, in fact, I think we're both finally ready for our exams tomorrow." That was his way of answering Charlie's question truthfully, while also avoiding the assumption that we had been at school. I didn't think I would ever get used to his half-truths. I started to wonder how many of my own I would end up telling Charlie before my time with him was cut short.

I kept my head down and thought about how much I was going to miss Charlie when we had to leave for good. I was glad Edward couldn't read my thoughts just then, because the pain I was in, over never seeing Charlie again, might have been enough to make him reconsider changing me. In my heart I had already accepted the fact that although it was going to be extrememly painful, it still beat the alternative. I'd lived through losing Edward once and had barely survived it. I knew I couldn't do it again.

I made eye contact with Edward and smiled. I noticed the puzzled look on his face. No doubt he was wondering what I had just been thinking.

"Penny for your thoughts, Bells." Charlie said, his expression matching Edward's. I had forgotten that he could also be very observant when he wanted to. I knew Edward was just as curious about my response because they both stared at me expectantly.

I put on my best 'everything's great' smile and said "I was actually just thinking that I could really go for a mountain dew right about now. Could you please get me one, Dad?"

"Oh, Bella, come on! I just got home after working all day. I think you can handle grabbing a drink on your own, don't you?" Charlie asked, laughing and shaking his head at what I was sure he thought was just plain laziness on my part.

"Aww, please, Daddy? And then we can figure out something for dinner.."

Charlie raised his eyebrow at me. "_Daddy_, huh? How long's it been since you called me that?"

I shrugged and gave him my most pathetic puppy dog face while he muttered a warning to Edward about watching out for me because I didn't fight fair. Charlie shook his head as he walked into the kitchen to get me the mountain dew I didn't really want. I stayed where I was and waited patiently for the sounds that would signal Charlie's discovery.

"What was going on with you just then, Bella?" Edward whispered softly in my ear as Charlie walked off. I leaned back against him, savoring the moment alone.

"Mmmmmm... That's nice" I said as he wrapped his arms around me. "Nothing's going on.. I needed a drink. Just like you, I get thirsty every now and then! Ok, so maybe not '_just_' like you, but - " I was trying to throw him off the trail, but I knew Edward was smarter than that.

"That's not what I meant..." Edward started and was cut off as Charlie reached his destination.

"Holy Shit!! What happened in here?!" came the yells from the kitchen. At first I thought my fears had been confirmed and that Charlie was indeed angry. I hurried to the kitchen, ready to explain, and was surprised to find Charlie laughing and running his hands over the stainless steel refrigerator in awe.

Charlie caught the relieved expression on my face. "Wait! Bella, you knew about this?! How? When-?"

"No. I was just as surprised as you. I only found out a little while before you did, Dad. It was all done by the time I came home." I explained.

"Wow. I don't know who Carlisle uses, but they're very good! Look at this attention to detail!! I thought he was just sending in some appraisers, but to get all of this accomplished in one day? Let's get Carlisle on the phone. I need to be able to thank him for this." Charlie was beaming and was clearly impressed with the handiwork.

"Actually, I think my family said they were going out for dinner, tonight. They'll probably be out fairly late. They like to try different places and sometimes their search for something exotic takes them clear out of town." Again, Edward explained with a partial truth. It was easy for him. I didn't see any remorse on his face. I started to think back to all of the times I'd had a hunch that Edward was being too vague on something and wondered if he had become numb to the guilt that went along with half-truths and lying.

"Oh,... well - let them enjoy their dinner, then. Tomorrow I'll try calling him and giving proper thanks. We need to think of something nice to do for the Cullen's, Bells..." Charlie said, never suspecting anything. I took the mountain dew out of his hand and set it on the counter as I nodded.

"Ok, but how about for right now - I throw some steaks on for dinner? Why don't you relax for a little bit after that hard day of work I'm sure you had? In fact, you could keep Edward company for me while I cook. Maybe when I'm done you guys can give me the play by play of what I missed so far?"

I grabbed an apron and tied it around me as Charlie nodded in the direction of the living room and said to Edward "Are you coming? Big hockey game's just starting. Me and Bells never miss a game when Pittsburg's playing. Please tell me you follow hockey.."

"Of course. Aren't they in Buffalo tonight? Winter classic game? I'll be right there. Go Penguins!" Edward threw his fist in the air as Charlie smiled and mimicked the motion on his way back to the living room.

"Go Penguins?! Since when do you care about hockey and more importantly - since when do you root for my team?" I asked, skeptically. Hockey was the only sport I'd ever gotten into enough to actually learn the rules and players. It had thrilled Charlie so much to see my love of a sport - any sport - that he embraced it whole heartedly and we had bonded over it during the past year.

"Since I just realized that you and Charlie both like them. I guess that makes them my team, too." he grinned devilishly at me and tapped his temple. I was grateful he didn't realize that my recent love of hockey and my team choice had stemmed from my infatuation with the Penguins top scoring center.

"So, my cheating, mind reader - How are you holding up? Would you like to lick the blood off a steak? A lot of people eat steak tartar and it's pretty widely accepted. I don't think it'd be too weird if you wanted to eat with us." I said waving a raw piece of steak in front of him on a skewer.

"That's not exactly the same as killing the animal yourself and drinking from it while it's still warm. No - I am going to have to pass. I actually do need a few minutes alone with Charlie, though, so-" There was that strange feeling again. I decided not to ask what he needed to talk to Charlie about.

"Well, since he's home now, can you tell me what this next reward is?" I asked as I threw the steaks into a pan with a little oil and smiled at the sizzling sound it created.

"After dinner and after the game." Edward said as he kissed the top of my head and then made his way out to join Charlie.

Thirty minutes later, I proudly carried the perfectly cooked medium steaks and two baked potatoes out on a silver serving tray. Charlie unexpectedly snapped my picture with a polaroid camera as soon as I rounded the corner, causing me to scream and almost tip the tray of food over. Luckily Edward caught the tray in the nick of time, saving dinner.

"Wow. You've got catlike reflexes, Edward. Has anyone ever told you that?" Charlie asked in amazement.

"I've been told that a few times. Are you ok, Bella?" Edward asked, sounding almost guilty as he safely set the tray down and brushed his hand against my arm.

"Was that really necessary?!" I demanded. "What?! You suddenly had an overwhelming urge to get a picture of me carrying steak?" My hand was still on my chest as I tried to calm myself down. I was fuming, which only made the guys laugh harder. I was starting to wonder if I liked Charlie better when he was fighting against Edward instead of working with him.

"Sorry if I startled you, but...oh, gosh - you should've _seen_ your face, Bells. It was priceless." Charlie laughed again and slapped his knee as he handed the camera back to Edward.

"Edward!! There had better be a good reason you two just scared me within an inch of my life." I snarled as he held the developing picture of me looking like a deer in the headlights.

"How many pictures do you and Charlie have of each other?" Edward asked, seriously. I knew there was an underlying importance to his question. I could see it in his eyes.

My expression softened as I mulled it over. "I ...I don't know...I guess not that many since I've gotten older. Why?"

"That's what I thought. Let's fix that after you've had a chance to eat and calm down.. hmm? By the way, it looks like it's going to go to a shootout pretty soon because the game is tied up."

Charlie nodded and listened as Edward gave me a run down on everything I'd missed in the game so far. His commentary was pretty good. Apparently it had been a very exciting game and I was kind of sorry I'd volunteered to stick myself in the kitchen during most of it.

We watched the end of the game together and erupted in loud cheers when the game winning goal was scored by my favorite player, making it a two-to-one victory for the Penguins.

"Could that game have been any more perfect?" I asked, blushing, as I realized Edward would piece two and two together any time now.

Edward smirked at my gushing and turned "I'll be right back. I need to get something from my car." With that, he walked out the front door and softly closed it behind him.

"What is going on, here, Dad? Edward said he needed to talk to you alone, earlier. Are you guys keeping something from me?" I asked Charlie as soon as Edward left the room.

"He shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just trying to be hospitable. Am I doing a good job?" I was convinced that Charlie knew more than he was letting on. Like me, he'd never been able to lie very effectively.

I was going to press the issue further, when the door opened again and Edward emerged, holding a stainless steel cylinder in each hand.

"My family and I recently decided to do this and I'd like to share it with you and Charlie, if you'll let me." Edward said, addressing me as he set the cylindrical objects down. They looked heavy and well constructed.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing toward the foreign objects.

"Time capsules." he answered, softly.

Silently, I waited for Edward to continue. He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. I felt like he was seeing into my soul. "There are a lot of good memories here. Memories that might not be as easy to recall in the future as they are right now. They should be preserved so they can be revisited at a later time."

I was in shock. I realized that he was trying to comfort me, in a way. That wasn't where I expected the conversation to go at all. I felt tears welling up inside of me as I tried not to become overly emotional.

Edward paused, looking at my glazed-over eyes for a minute before he continued. "I can't know the future and everything that it holds for you, Bella. I only know that you'll be brilliant, because you couldn't possibly be any other way. Anyway, I thought - if you wanted to, the time capsules might make it easier on both of you. You have to realize that this path you have chosen - going off to college - ...is going to take you away from here... for a while at least..." He looked at me and I knew that this was about so much more than college. "I'm sure it will be an eye opening experience with it's own joys and discoveries, but who knows when you will have moments like these again. It might be a long time..."

_Or it might be never_...

A single tear rolled down my face as the full meaning of this gift hit me like a ton of bricks. He was helping me remember Charlie, my Dad, just as he was now. And vice versa.

"Bells, I'm sure it won't be as bad as all that. I mean, sure I'll miss you, but we'll call a lot and e-mail each other and you'll come home during breaks and holidays, right?" Charlie asked, concerned at the tears in my eyes, threatening to spill over.

"I'll see you as often as I can, Dad, but Edward's right. I'm going to be far away. I want to do the time capsules even if you think it's silly. This means a lot to me. To be able to capture a moment in time. Just to remember the world and history as it is right now...Let's each make one for each other!! We can bury our capsules and dig them up again... years down the line...and think back to all of this..." I gulped as I said that part and looked at the ground. I blinked and let a couple more big wet tears fall to the ground, hoping Charlie hadn't noticed.

Charlie hugged me and lifted my face up with his big, fatherly hands as he wiped away the tears I was trying to hide from him. "Ok, sweetie. If it means that much to you, I'll make one for you. I'm not really sure I know what to put in it, though, other than... Oh! You know what'd be perfect?! Maybe Edward can get a couple pictures of us together wearing our jerseys and holding the pennant? Of course, you should probably go clean your face up a little bit, first, though. What? I'm just saying - Who knows who we'll be sharing the pictures with the next time we dig up the capsules. I don't want people thinking I made your life miserable or that you had some bad pink eye going on when we took the pictures.." He teased and gave me a playful shove as I returned it and smiled in spite of myself.

"Ok, so then, let's go get our Jersey's on and meet back down here again within.. oh, I don't know - does ...ten minutes give you two enough time?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

"Thank you, Chief Swan... _for everything_." Edward answered and held Charlie's gaze long enough for me to know that they were both privy to something that I wasn't in on. I also knew that if Edward didn't want me to know what it was, I wasn't going to find out anything.

As soon as Charlie was safely behind closed doors, I ran into Edwards arms and sobbed.

"Dammit!! I'm so sorry, Bella!! Can you forgive me? I never wanted to bring up things that would hurt you. I was afraid it might be too much, too soon. You haven't had time to process it and now I've ruined your day."

As I looked up at Edward's miserably disappointed face, I knew I had better start explaining- quickly!

"No, Edward. It's not _all_ sad! I mean - yeah, I can't help but notice the irony that I will be leaving Charlie just when I realized how close we were becoming. Things finally fell into place for us and we were beginning to connect. But it's more than that. I'm crying because it's probably the most thoughtful thing you could've done for me. And for Charlie... and I don't know what to say or how to thank you for that. You've shown me what true, selfless, love is and I guess I just keep waiting for the bubble to pop or the dream to come to an end. I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you! "

"You're right. You _don't_ deserve me. You deserve much better than someone who is going to selfishly put you through such agony...My only saving grace is that I genuinely love you and can't function without you any better than you can without me."

I smiled as he bent down and kissed my tear streaked face. I pulled him in and deeply kissed his lips as I murmured "I love you, Edward. I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too. More than you'll ever know, probably. But, as delicious as this is, we need to cut it short for now. Charlie is already dressed and has been sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for a decent amount of time to have passed so he can come back down. He was trying to give us some privacy. Let's not take advantage of that any more than we already do.."

"Just one more for the road." I pleaded as I leaned against Edward and kissed him, passionately. I got carried away as usual, and was brought crashing back to reality as I heard Charlie's booming voice on the stairs.

"Edward, I'm grateful to you and your family for the new kitchen, but I had something a little different in mind when I said we'd find a way to pay you back." I knew he was joking, but I was embarassed all the same. Just what I needed. A red face to match my red eyes.

"Dad!.. I didn't see you there. Or _hear_ you coming.." I looked at Edward, accusingly. "Um..I was just heading up to get changed now." I ran all the way up the stairs and didn't look back as the guys shared yet another laugh at my expense.

_A/N: Thanks once again to vjgm for giving me that kick in the butt I needed to start writing again. (I had temporarily put my stories on hiatus and was pretty bummed about it , but I'm happy to say that I'm back at it now) And thanks for helping me rework the ending of that chapter. I didn't like it very much, before. So, for all your help, and the fact that you're just good like that-I dedicate this chapter to you. _

_And also - a shout out to Bella Raven Cullen... that info you sent me in the private message was PERFECT!! I am pretty sure I will be able to use it in the next chapter of this story. I love when people find things like that and send it to me to see if I can work it into the plot. I am pretty open to suggestions (in this story at least).. Ok.. now I go to write the next chapter for 'Bon Voyage' xoxoxo _


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: Nothing new in this regard...Stephenie Meyer, is the proud owner of the Twilight universe and our beloved Edward.

Ch 29

I threw my hair into a french twist and applied a liberal amount of make-up since my face had finally returned to it's normal shade. Satisfied, I closed the door behind me and bounded back down the stairs, decked out in my favorite faded jeans and Penguins jersey.

I smiled at the sight that greeted me. Both Edward and Charlie had similar expressions.

"You look incredible in that jersey." Edward's voice was soft and he smiled at me, encouragingly.

"Doesn't she?" Charlie smiled proudly and nodded, most likely thinking back to when he had bought the matching powder blue garments for us. The old school jerseys cost a pretty penny. It was an extravagant birthday present, that I knew must've set him back a bit. The fact that he had ordered mine with the 87 on the back made me cherish it that much more.

"Well, get together and hold the pennant up...and smile, Bella." Edward said in a light tone as he grabbed the polaroid camera from the end table. Charlie and I threw our arms around each other, each of us taking an end of the pennant in one hand and giving each other bunny ears with the other.

"I'm going to take two pictures so you can each have one." Edward explained. Snap! I watched the film slide out of the end of the polaroid. Edward set it aside, to let it finish drying and snapped the next picture.

We took several outrageous pictures and by the end of the night I was exhausted, emotionally, physically, and mentally. I had included more than enough sentimental memorabilia into my time capsule for Charlie. I'd managed to dig out some older pictures and even found the first halloween costume he bought me. The last thing to go in the capsule as I sealed it was 'Bubby", the gray stuffed rabbit Charlie bought when he found out Renee was pregnant with me. I'd never had the strength to get rid of it, but I hoped it might somehow be able to comfort Charlie when the time came.

I slept in Edward's arms and don't know how he managed to put up with all my tossing and turning. My stomach was sour with indigestion and all night long I had nightmares of giant pearls chasing me down. I awoke in a foul mood, despite the happy chirping of birds outside my open window. I was more than a little sleep deprived and anxious.

I forced myself to get ready for school, throwing on the first outfit in the closet, but could only manage three bites of cereal before I stopped for fear of it coming back up on me. I sat in silence through the entire car ride to school while Edward held my hand and attempted to reassure me. For once, I didn't even care how fast he was driving and he didn't need to read my mind to tell that I was too distracted to hold a decent conversation. After a while he stopped trying, although he still squeezed my hand, every now and then.

The scene at school didn't do anything to improve my nerves, either. It was mass chaos everywhere I turned. To my right, a freshman girl was being escorted by two friends to the school office. She held a brown paper bag to her face and was wheezing in and out. Everyone, with the exception of Edward and his siblings, seemed stressed out and paranoid.

I was thankful that literature was the first class of the day. I was relying on the good vibes from friends to pull me through and set the mood for the rest of the day. I let Alice hug me quickly before taking my seat and returning Angela's nervous wave. Then Angela's eyes glazed over and she went back to fingering her ornate dangly earring and clicking the top of her mechanical pencil in that way that she did whenever she was frazzled. I knew how she felt.

Our teacher collected our books as she droned on about the time limitations and rules. I was a little sorry to give back 'The Pearl' and was actually considering buying my own copy when we were informed by our teacher that only her first three periods would be graded in time to get their results posted the same day. Everyone else would endure a long, torturous, wekend of 'what if'. At least I had that going for me. If I bombed, I'd know it by the end of the day.

"And...go..." the teacher said as everyone simultaneously flipped over their face-down exam and started answering questions on a scantron form. I glared at the little circles on the paper. It was such a trivial thing, those circles, and yet they would determine my immediate future, both academically and personally. I didn't know what bothered me more. Fear of failing the test or fear of losing Edward's final reward.

I pushed the thought away, hastily, and tried to calm myself down. I needed to focus on the here and now. I looked over at Edward, his left hand, ruffling through his beautiful mane of hair, allowing it to tumble lightly into his eyes. I concentrated on his serene face, his smile, the graceful turn of his wrist as he worked. When he caught my gaze and gave me a sexy, blatant wink, I lowered my head, finally ready for the task at hand.

"And... time's up. Pencils down!" came the order an hour later. I confidently filled in my last answer and set my pencil down. I had a pretty good feeling that I had passed since I recognized a lot of the questions from Edward's tutoring.

I smiled and looked around. A few of the other students swore under their breath and scrambled as they randomly filled in whatever open circles they still had before the teacher collected the materials. Time had clearly run out and their chances of getting a good grade were slim to none at that point.

Edward, Rose, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper had nothing to worry about and their smiles reflected it. Of course they deserved their advantages. It was the only upside of having been through high school so many times, as far as I could tell.

"So... how do you think you did?" Rose was the first to approach me, with the rest of the group hot on her trail. They formed a circle around me and stared at my face as I started to feel self conscious.

"I think it went well. Of course I won't know for sure until the results get posted, later. That is- unless someone here cares to share their insider info with me _before_ then..." I looked at their faces expectantly, my gaze lingering longer when I came to Alice. She stubbornly crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Wait?! What's wrong? You can't see my results?!" I asked, becoming scared and a little shocked.

"Oh, she knows how you did, but she's just not saying anything." Jasper whined and looked as unhappy about the situation as I was. I wondered why everyone else seemed just as eager as I was to know my grade.

"So, why can't you tell me?" I asked, suspiciously.  
"Haven't you figured it out, yet? It's because she loves to torture us. She gets off on that kind of stuff. I don't even want to know about all the things she must have to blackmail Jasper with if she wanted to." Emmett added, clearly exasperated.

"Ha ha, Emmett. Very funny. I have my reasons for not saying anything yet... And only a _small_ part of it is because I like to torture you." she threw in which got a 'Hmmph' out of Emmett and Rose.

"Look, Babe... whatever Rose and Emmett did to piss you off - I had nothing to do with it, ok, so if you wanta just take me and Bella aside and tell us..."

Alice's voice dropped to a low whisper. "That's not it, Jasper. Just because I get stuck with visions that sometimes ruin things for me doesn't mean I'm going to spoil it for everyone else. Besides Carlisle would kill me if you all knew what was going on."

"What does any of this have to do with Carlisle?" I asked. My head was starting to hurt. None of it made any sense, but I could've sworn I saw Edward smile briefly, and exchange a look with Alice before regaining his poker face.

"Come on, Bella. I'll walk you to your next class." Edward said, taking my books from me, with a determined look on his face, and pushing me past his siblings.

"Ok, then. Fine! I see what you're doing!! But we'll be meeting you back here at the end of the day!" Emmett called after us.

A cold wind whipped at my face as we walked to the far building, toward my next class and I knew snow would be in the forecast before long. Snow always had a magical affect on the Cullen's and the Hale's. It seemed to bring out the inner child in all of them. I was excited at thoughts of impecable forts, snow fights, tobagganing, and skiing. And, although, the idea of strapping pieces of wood to my feet and flying down a hill scared the hell out of me, Edward had somehow managed to convince me to leet him try to teach me when the time came. Oddly, I couldn't wait.

Edward stopped outside the door to my classroom and looked at me with an expression I couldn't identify while my mind went back to the suspicious behavior of his siblings. I tried to figure out how my passing or failing the literature exam would affect all of them, this time.

"It'll be ok, Bella. Just try to relax a little. You're ready for this." He was talking about the rest of my exams and he was saying all the right things, but I wasn't nervous about the rest of my classes anymore. I was too preoccupied with literature and I knew something strange was going on.

"I know you know something, Edward. I could tell by the way you were smiling at Alice before." I said accusingly, while I leaned in to brush a strand of hair out of his face. It was just the excuse I needed to press my body against his. I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and deliberately rubbed my leg up and down his, in an attempt to bribe the information out of him. He closed his eyes halfway, a look of torture on his face. I thought I might actually have a shot, when his tortured look was quickly replaced with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Bella. As tempting as you make it, you're just going to have to wait like everyone else."

"You mean like everyone else except you and Alice." I corrected him, moving away slightly and taking my books out of his hands. "Come on! What difference could it make if I find out how I did now or in six hours?"

"Alice can't help that she gets visions. And I can't help that I hear her thoughts. But I'm not going to tell you anything yet because I'm buying some time in case he can't..." Edward stopped, realizing he'd probably already said more than he should have. "Nevermind. That's enough for now."

"No, wait! In case he can't what?..." I probed, even though I had no idea who "_He_" was in the first place.

As an answer to my question, Edward slipped an arm around my waist and brought me to him, slowly, laughing and nuzzling my neck the whole time. The sensation made me giddy and my face was flushed when he suddenly moved backward to leave for his class, unexpectedly.

"See you soon, my love."

"Oh, that's not nice, Edward. You're so lucky you're cute." I grumbled and leaned against the door frame for support.

His eyes sparkled, mischievously. "See. You're not the only one who can fight dirty... But, I'll make a deal with you. As soon as I get the phone call I'm waiting for..." he patted his cell phone in his jeans pocket. "...I will tell you everything."

A phone call? What'd that mean?! I didn't know who he would be waiting on a call from. I was pretty sure the only people who could enlighten me about my grade would be Alice and the literature teacher and neither of them would be calling Edward.

The next few classes went by in a blur. I pushed everything else as far back in my mind as it would go and focused all my energy on getting through my exams.

At lunch, I tried Edward again, after we were all seated. Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie leaned forward in their seats and searched Edward's face, hoping to catch some small hint that would give away his secret.

"I'm sorry. Nothing yet...No phone call." he muttered, knowing what I was after.

"Well, that's just because he's still working on it." Alice said, a look of total concentration on her face as though she was seeing something far away.

"But can't you see his outcome? It's making me crazy! How long do we have to make her wait?" Edward asked, motioning towards me.

I wanted to shout out, '_Who's_ outcome? What's going on?' But I swallowed the words, knowing they would be useless. Meanwhile, Edward and Alice kept speaking in the cryptic code.

"You know how it works, Edward. I can only see the end result once something has been decided on. He is still playing around with the ideas. I wish he would just pick one already. I swear he's doing this on purpose." Alice let out a low growl and pushed her tray away from her, roughly.

The confusion was getting to me. By the time my last period class was over, I had only one thing on my mind. Getting back to the literature class as fast as I could to see my results.

As expected, by the time I ran back to the literature room, there were close to a hundred students crammed together in the halway, staring at a list that was posted on the outside of the door. There were several groans and many disappointed faces, but no one was leaving.

I was out of breath from all of the running so I stopped and hung back a little to see if the crowd would clear out. Jasper, Emmett, and Rose were already waiting for me, with anxious expressions. Alice and Edward came into view not a minute later. Edward had closed his flip phone and placed it back into his pocket as he walked up and placed a small kiss on my forehead.

"I just got off the phone and I have the info that -" he said, but was interrupted by Angela who bounded over and grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front of the line by the door before I could hear the rest of Edward's statement.

"Sorry, Edward! I need to borrow Bella for a second! Come on, Bella!! You've gotta push your way to the front so you can see, otherwise you'll be here all day waiting for some of these people to move." she said, giving several girls dirty looks, to imply that she was talking about them.

I figured Edward's news could wait a minute longer. I would brace myself and find my test result, first. I stood directly in front of the list on the door. It spanned over three pages. First period was at the top, followed by second and third. Instead of listing scores by our name, the teacher had opted for pin numbers instead. For anonymity. My heart pounded in my ears as I traced my finger down the page until I found my pin number.

"Oh! There I am. Number 62001!! I followed the line across and felt the air being squeezed out of me as Angela squeeled and grabbed me from behind before I saw my grade.

"Oh My God, Bella!!!!. That's YOUR number?! We were wondering who that was...You have the highest grade on all the pages!!! 100 percent!! I can't believe it!! Why are you just standing there?!! Aren't you excited?! Oh, you'd better tell Edward. He's gonna be so proud of you!!" Her bubbliness was puting Alice to shame.

I knew Edward and the rest of the gang always missed a question or two on purpose to fly under the radar. That's why I had scored higher than them. Realization slowly sank in. I had passed. No - not just passed - I had _aced_ it!

"Edward...I passed!! With an 'A' !!" I shouted, running back to him and taking hold of his hand.

"Congratulations!" he said, smiling widely and kissing me, briefly. Emmett sighed in relief and picked Rose up and swung her around like a rag doll while Jasper exhaled and pulled Alice to him in a light hug.

"Of course, you probably already knew that, didn't you?" I asked.

"Alice and I have known for a while and it was killing me to keep it from you. I needed to give him some time to get plans together. I just got the phone call when you were pulled away from me. Carlisle says to tell you congratulations from him and Esme..." Edward smirked.

I gasped. "Wait - I'm lost. Carlisle?! Was that who you had been waiting on a call from?"

Alice and Edward both nodded, their faces lighting up, gloriously.

"I'm guessing I just won us all the grand daddy of prizes?" I asked, taking note of everyone's expressions.

"Yes! A deal's a deal! Of couse, it required the help of Carlisle to pull it all off, but I think you're going to love it! Actually I think we are ALL going to love it. It looks like Carlisle arranged for the whole family to go." Edward replied. Then he turned to everyone and said "Why don't you guys start home ahead of us and get packed. We will be there as soon as we can."

That explained it. I hopped into the Volvo with Edward and gave his hand an excited squeeze. He cranked up the stereo for me, playing the demo tape that 'Bloodlust' had cut. There was only one copy made and I was it's sole owner. The lyrics of the song he had written gave me chills.

"The streets are dark, my pulse is flat-lined as I'm running to you  
You sit completely unaware of what I'm about to do  
The air is thick with tension much like when we are together  
My fangs are aching as I'm pondering about you and I forever

As I round your corner, I am nervous that you won't be my lover  
I knock three times and hope that my pale complexion won't blow my cover  
You answer the door with your innocent face  
Would you like to leave this human race, tonight?

Eternity will never be enough for me and eternally we'll live our infallible love

My brain is pumping an unusual secretion of lust  
Your eyes are softer now and your chin, it drips a bloody color of rust  
I am raising up the stakes of this round, I am playing for keeps  
Oh, would you like to leave this human race, tonight?

Follow me into the sea..We'll drown together and immortalize you and me  
Leave behind this lonely town..We're both better than this, it's not worth being down"

As the song drew to a close, I opened my eyes again and whispered. "I'll never get over that one. And I've been thinking - I stil can't believe you managed to convince Charlie to let me go away with you! Is that what you were talking about when I was in the kitchen yesterday?"

Edward's lips curled into a smile and he nodded. It wasn't until I realized we were heading away from his house, that I got nervous.

"Well, why are we going _this_ way? You told everyone we'd meet them back at the house, right? Am I missing something again?" I asked, bewildered.

"We'll be meeting up with them later, but I thought for sure you'd want to keep your date. Especially since it'll be a little while until you get to visit again. So, I'm letting you keep your promise."

The way he spat the word '_date_' reminded me that I'd made a promise to spend the rest of the day with Jake.

"Come on, you know it's not a date. I'm just going to -"

"What?! Take the dog out for a walk?" he joked.

"Be nice, Edward." I said, but somehow I couldn't find it in me to get mad at him. I was too excited and looking forward to the two weeks away with him. I still couldn't believe that he'd gotten everything to fall into place, especially Charlie. It was the kind of thing I dreamed about, but never in a million years expected to happen.

The engine cut and we sat at the border. We'd made great time but I wasn't ready to leave Edward, yet. La Push was just across the invisible line. Jacob stood waiting,outside of his car, anxious. His face lit up when he saw me, probably relieved that I had shown up. I wondered how he was going to take the news.

Edward reached over, unbuckled me, and took my face in his hands as he pulled me in for a breathtaking kiss. His hands ran through my hair and down my shoulders and back. I knew what he was doing, but I was too caught up in the rapture to care.

He continued running his hands over the length of my body and I vaguely recognized Jacob's annoyed growl. I felt Edward's lips turning upward in a smile and laugh gently as he kissed my ears and down my neck. When Edward finally released me, I was gasping and wishing we were alone in his room, instead.

"That was delicious. But evil. Just wait until I get back home." I threatened as I opened the door and stepped out.

"Call me when you're ready to come home. And, Bella...?" Edward said in his uber sexy voice.

I bit my lip and looked deep into those smoldering eyes. "Hmmm...?"

"Don't make me wait too long to continue that."

I watched him lean across to my side and slowly pull my door closed before tearing off down the road, tires squeeling. It wasn't until he was out of my sight that I turned and walked the remaining fifty feet to meet Jacob.

Jake's face was contorted, his hand clenched into a fist and then released. He repeated the process several times. I had a feeling he already knew what I was going to tell him and he wasn't too happy about it.

_A/N: There it is! Thank you to Bella Raven Cullen for the lyrics to that wonderful song by The Spill Canvas. It is called "This is for keeps" ... I just allowed Edward's band to claim it for this chapter ...And BTW - Edward DID tell Bella where they're going ... I just haven't told any of you yet.. _

_So all of you that guessed a while back and said that Edward's final reward would be to take Bella away somewhere on a vacation - You Were Right!!!! Now, where exactly is he taking her?? And who caught the importance behind her pin number?? _


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: All characters living, dead, or undead from this chapter belong to Stephenie Meyer!! 

CH 30

"Bella." He inclined his head toward me as his eyes flickered and then went dark again. "You look beautiful...Too bad you smell so awful."

"Well, thanks, Jake! Nice to see you, too."I could tell he was upset. He was rooted to the spot and thrust his hands into his pockets, making no attempt to come closer to me.

"I suppose you probably figured I'd be so overjoyed that he actually let you come to say goodbye to me, that I wouldn't be pissed that he's taking you away with him for two weeks!"

His tone of voice put me on the defensive. "I really don't think it affects you much, either way, does it?" I snapped and imediately wished I could take it back. Jacob's look of anger subsided and changed to one of sadness and betrayal, instead.

I might not have been able to hurt him physically, but emotionally I was leaving scars that wouldn't soon heal. His eyes were deep pools of despair, but he kept his tone void of emotion when he continued.

"I can't protect you if something happens when you're that far away..."

Now we were getting to the real issue. He couldn't stand the feeling of being helpless and as much as he might hate to admit it, he and Edward were more alike than they realized. They both shared an undeniable need to be completely in control of whatever situation they were in.

"Jake, nothing's going to happen. Edward will take good care of me." I said in a softer tone.

His jaw tightened. "Oh, I'm sure Edward can't wait to get you alone and try to 'take good care of you'!" The biting sarcasm was his classic defense mechanism. I tried not to take it personal. "And yes - I know. You're going to try and appease me by telling me that it'll be perfectly appropriate because his whole family will be going. Don't you see how dangerous that makes things?! What if, god forbid, you have to open another box or something? We all know how well that went last time..."

I frowned. Opening my birthday present had been the catalyst for Edward leaving me and I hated to think back to those times.

"No problem...So - I just won't open any boxes for the next two weeks. On the odd chance that I have to open anything at all, I'll make Edward do it." I smiled, trying to win him over. I only had a few hours left with him, and I didn't want to spend them like this. I hated fighting with him.

I closed the gap between us and placed my hand against Jacob's bare arm, softly. Even though it was frigid and windy out now, he only wore jeans and a white sleeveless shirt. As usual, his skin was overly warm, like clothes just taken out of the dryer. It was a familiar and comforting feeling.

I watched his inner struggle play across his face as he fought the urge to hug me back. He was determined not to budge. Probably afraid that touching me or showing the least bit of response constituted some conceding on his part.

I laid my head against his chest and felt his sharp intake of breath. It was moe than he could stand. His hands involuntarily wrapped around me, holding me to him with an urgency that I recognized all too well. I wished the hug could've been as simple and innocent a gesture on his part as it was on mine.

"You're my best friend and I know you're looking out for me, but please, try not to worry about me, Jake. I promise to come home in a couple weeks in perfect condition. In fact, you'll be the first person I come to see as soon as I'm back in town, ok? Can't you just please let me have this and try to be happy for me??" I pleaded.

"Asking me not to worry would be like me asking you not to breathe. It can't be done." He sighed deeply but I knew he was giving in. "You do see the irony in all this, don't you? Here you are in my arms and it's HIM you're asking to be with"  
"It's always been him. I'm in love with him. I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't mean to hurt you. I've never meant for any of it to turn out like this for you. It's not fair...You deserve so much better. You're my best friend, and one of the most amazingly sweet guys I've ever known. You're smart and loyal and funny..."

"Don't forget extremely good looking... There's that one too, since we're making a list..." he laughed to cover up the lump in his throat.

"Yes, but not very humble." I joked back, taking advantage of the momentary light mood to pull out of his arms.

"Humility's overrated...Anyway - I guess immortality is the trait that all the cool kids are into these days, huh??..." His smile faded too soon and he was serious again. "And yet even with all my so-called good traits and me pouring my heart out to you and trying my hardest, it's still not enough is it? It won't ever be enough with him in the picture."

"Oh, Jake..." There were no words to make the situation any better and I wasn't about to lie to him. I sat there, silent, knowing I was breaking his heart and yet not seeing any way around it.

"I'm so sorry. If you want me to leave now, I'll understand." I whispered and looked down. I hated myself for making him feel like less of a man than he was. I prayed that sooner, rather than later, he would find a nice girl and imprint on her, so he wouldn't have to hurt for too long. I hoped it would be extremely painful for me when it did happen, too. I deserved to be punished for everything I'd put him through. And for everything I was still puting him through.

"No. I don't want you to leave. That's the problem. As much as I know that you don't love me the way you should... not the way I love you... I can't bear to send you away. I still want whatever of you you're willing to give me. God help me, I know it's pathetic, and yet- I cant help but wonder... If he hadn't come back, would you still be waiting for him, today...or would I be holding you in a lover's embrace right now and kissing you like you so badly need to be kissed..." his eyes burned through me.

"I can't answer that, Jake.." I said, partly because I was afraid to think about how close I had once come to finding out the answer to that question, myself. I knew in Jacob's mind it made perfect sense for us to be together. He was genuinely in love with me and it was as pure as my love for Edward. In his mind it should've been an easy choice. I had no way to ease Jake's suffering and that made me feel more guilty than I'd ever felt in my entire life.

I shifted, uneasily, afraid to look into Jake's face again. I couldn't stand to see the pain I was inflicting on him. He must've sensed my hopeless frustration, because when I didn't make eye contact with him for a few minutes, his demeanor changed and he touched my arm in a tender way.

"I'm sorry I brought that up. Forgive me. You're in a good mood. I don't want to spoil it. Look - it's your last night here for a while. What do you want to do? Anything at all. My treat." Jake said with an airy dismissiveness, rather than anger or embarassment, either of which would have seemed more appropriate.

The abrupt transition was a little eerie, but I didn't question it. I was all too happy to change the subject and just go back to having some fun with my best friend. I hopped into Jake's rabbit and waited for him to get the clue that I wanted to leave.

He climbed in beside me and started the engine. He took off, driving blind. "Ok. So, where am I taking us? Are you hungry?"

"I'm starved." I smiled, thinly.

"Well, what are you in the mood for? Nothing's too good for you. Just say the word. You want five star, candlelit restaurants, maybe steaks or seafood...-"

I shook my head. I knew Jacob was hard pressed for money, though he would've found a way to deny himself something and take me out for lobster tails if I told him it would make me happy. I wanted to relax and make the most of my time with him. It wouldn't be a carefree atmosphere at a restaurant and I wanted to forego all the pretenses and stuffiness.

"Actually, I don't need all that. I'm not in the mood for anything fancy. I just want to spend a little quality time with you. You know - just catching up on what's been going on in your world. Do you mind if we just head back to your place for a little while?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't be offended.

"No problem at all. Dad mentioned he might be barbecuing, tonight. I'm sure he won't mind if we crash his party." He laughed a contagious laugh that I hadn't realized I'd been missing until then.

I smiled. "Perfect."

Our friendship was deep enough for us to be comfortable with silence or during our very chatterbox moments. This happened to be one of the latter times. Jake did most of the talking while I corralled the conversation so that it stayed within safe topics. He spoke in great detail about his accomplishments in school and how proud Billy had been when he'd made high honors.

Before I knew it, we were at our destination, walking into Jake's house. Sure enough, Billy was out back on the lanai, already slaving over the hot coals with a few friends. A delicious aroma of various grilled foods wafted in through the screen door, causing me to salivate. Billy waved and smiled when he saw us and excused himself so he could come in and say hi.

"Hey, Dad. It looks like you're stuck with me tonight, after all." Jake joked. "And I hope you don't mind - I brought company."

"Company?! Where??! " He looked around. "I know you don't mean Bella - because she's practically family." He smiled and winked at me. "You will always be welcome here, Bella. What's ours is yours, you know that." He said graciously, as he bowed his head and tipped his hat to me. "Besides, it's nothing for me to throw on another rack of baby backs and a few more smoked sausages."

I leaned down and hugged Billy, thanking him. He had a way of making everyone around him feel welcome. I knew he still held out hope, like Jake, that I would somehow end up being a real part of their family. I squashed the thought as I felt the grief and guilt building up again.

I listened to Billy and his friends talk about the old days over dinner as we sat outside, under the stars. Apparently, they had been quite the group of mischief makers when they were younger. I caught myself smiling and laughing along with a few of their outlandish stories when the wind picked up and an unexpected downpour of rain fell on us.

We all took Billy's lead, grabbing our plates of food and making our way back inside. The guys laughed and shook their wet manes onto each other as soon as we were all safely indoors, again. They were all just a bunch of oversized children. Jake apologized and told me he would be right back before heading upstairs.

"You know he loves you, right?" Billy asked, startling me. His eyes were intense and stared off in the direction where Jake had disappeared. I looked around. Billy's friends were still engaged in their antics at the other end of the room and couldn't hear us.

"I love him too, Billy." I said, not fooling him for one minute.

"I know you do. But I don't think we're talking the same kind of love here. What he feels for you goes a lot deeper. I hope he doesn't get his heart broken."

I had no comforting reply for him because his observation was undeniably true. I would break Jake's heart in the end, no matter what. There was no getting around it. I opened my mouth and tried to find the words that would somehow convince Billy that I didn't mean for Jake to get hurt by anything I did. I never got the opportunity.

Jake returned to the living room a minute later with a towel for me to dry my hair. He looked from me to Billy and asked "Is everything alright?" before sitting down on the couch. I nodded and shivered slightly and scooted to sit closer to him. I didn't mind the innocent way he draped his arm over my shoulder. His body gave off enough heat that I didn't need a sweater if I stayed close enough.

We talked while a thin shroud of gray fog billowed and the rain continued to fall. We devoted not a word to the future. Billy's house was so cloistered and cozy that I was almost tempted to succumb to the dangerously comforting notion that no world existed beyond their protective walls.

My phone rang, disrupting my beautiful tranquility. I looked down and frowned as I immediately recognized the number. Alice! I was tempted to just ignore it, certain that she would only be calling to try and hurry me along. Chances were - she had thought of some little triavial thing she wanted for the trip and was calling to see if I would go shopping with her. I wasn't ready to head back, yet.

On the other hand, if something had happened to any of them...

"What's up?" I asked, flipping open the phone and noticing the identical looks I was getting from Jake and Billy.

"Bella, don't be mad. Rose and Emmett wanted me to call and see how you're doing." Her voice was squeekier than ever.

"I'm fine. Why? What's going on?"

"Please tell me you're not leaving me, yet. You just got here." Jake whined as I shushed him so I could hear Alice.

"Oh, nothing. We were just wondering if everything's ok and all... you know...since I can't see you when you're with the dog. I mean you've been gone for a while now and we were just wondering if you had tried to call Edward for a ride home yet. We thought maybe he missed the call to come and pick you up or something."

I couldn't believe her. It was the most obnoxious thing she had ever come up with. I knew she wasn't alone in it.

"Is Edward there?" I asked,trying to control my temper and hoping he didn't have a part in the scheme. I ignored the grimace from Jake at the mention of Edward's name.

"No. He and Jasper went out to hunt for a while, but I could come and pick you up if you need a ride or something." she said, her voice sounding hopeful.

"Alice - listen to me. I know that you're all biting at the bit, but I'm not ready to come home yet. Our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow morning anyway and I only take about twenty minutes to pack. Now - I'm puting my phone on silent and I plan on ignoring any further calls. Please find something else to do to pass the time. You can tell Rose and Emmett that unless someone is dying, they'd better not call me either!"

_A/N: WoW!! What a crazy week it was! I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!! (For those of you that celebrated it - as I was reminded that it isn't a big deal for some people... hehe) Anyway - Yes! I know it took a long time for me to get this out... Sorry for that!! And yes - I know I went out of order. I was supposed to post the new chapter for Bon Voyage first. Well , that chapter isn't done yet. It will probably be a long one because I've got a lot to cover and can't seem to find a good stopping place yet.. Besides, this story only has ONE chapter left at this point before I can wrap it up. First I need to write about the vacation - when Edward takes her to ... aahhaa!! You thought I was going to tell you, didn't you?? No!! You will find out when Bella steps off the plane. Hopefully it'll be just one long last chapter, but I might need to make it two if I can't fit all the events into one._

_It's not such a sad thing that it is ending.. It will give me time to focus on my other story like I need to... So smile ... :) and send me some love - last week was rough on me!!_


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I only own Gina... How sad...

Ch 31

"I'm not leaving. Not yet." I reassured Jake, causing him to swell with happiness as he took my hand in his. I looked at his large hand on mine and tried to convince myself that we were just two old friends, enjoying each other's company, but deep down, I knew better. It would never be simple with him, again. I had been lying to myself if I thought I could remain friends with him.

Each time I came to visit him, I was torturing him. The fact that he let it happen, and even encouraged it, didn't make me feel any better. It was like ripping the bandage off a wound that hadn't healed yet, just to see if it would still bleed. I needed to distance myself from him emotionally and physically, but I couldn't bring myself to completely let him go. At least, not yet. The truth was - there were worse monsters than vampires and werewolves in the world and I was the worst kind.

I was still fuming over Alice's call when my phone went off again. "WHAT!?!" I screamed into the receiver, not bothering to see who it was, first.

"What the hell kind of way is THAT to answer your phone!?" said Charlie, matching my irritated tone. I could tell he was surprised by my open hostility. "Edward seemed convinced that you would pass your literature exam, but that sure didn't sound like your happy voice!!! So, how badly did you fail?!"

Charlie!! Shit!

"Dad! I'm so sorry about that. I thought you were someone else... And - I ...I guess I just got so caught up with everything that I forgot to call you and tell you the good news, but I passed the exam!! I had the highest score in the class, in fact."

"Really? Well, that makes more sense seeing as how Alice was just here. Congratulations, honey!"

"Thanks..What? Alice was there?" I asked, wondering how that made sense.

"Yeah, she said she couldn't stay, but she came by and picked up a few things to help you pack. Something about a sleepover tonight so you can be up early and get to the airport...I was kinda hoping you were still going to come home and say goodbye to me before you leave, though. It'll be two weeks before I see you again..."

"Wait!! Alice packed for me?!?!" This was getting ridiculous!

"Uh oh!! Please don't tell me I just spoiled the surprise for you!" Charlie groaned.

"If you mean about the vacation, no, you didn't spoil it. I knew we were going away. Edward told me today after we got our test results. By the way, thank you so much for letting me go with them. I promise to be on my best behavior and listen to Carlisle and Esme."

"Mm hm. So, where are you at right now? I assumed you were out with Edward, but you're not usually that keyed up when you're with him, so..."

"Dad, I'm with Jake...I was saying goodbye before the trip..." I added quickly, not knowing why I suddenly felt the need to explain. I could feel the tension on the line and it was a minute before Charlie spoke.

"Look, I've been getting along with Edward, because I thought that was what you wanted, but you need to make up your mind. If you've had some sort of revelation about how you feel about Jake ..." The happy inflections in his voice were obvious and he spoke in an octave higher than usual. I thought I saw Jacob smiling out of the corner of my eye, but upon closer inspection, I realized it must've been my imagination. His face was still calm and indifferent.

"What? No, Dad, it isn't like that." I blurted quickly before his speculation got the better of him.

"So... no epiphany??"

"No. Sorry to disappoint you." I said sarcastically as I felt a hint of the hostility rising back up. Had he still been holding out, hoping that I'd have a change of heart? Was that the only reason he'd been nice to Edward?

"Oh, ok.. I mean... uh, no. You didn't disappoint me...It's just... Well, please try to remember that the Black family has been friends of ours for a long time. It's not fair for you to string Jake along. Keep your goodbyes simple, Bella. The longer you drag it out, the harder you'll make it on him."

Tell me something I don't know!

I didn't want to get into an argument with Charlie over Jake right now for a few reasons. For starters, Jake was sitting right beside me and I wasn't about to indulge in a conversation about him while he revelled in the idea that there might be something deeper than friendship going on. It was bad enough that he'd probably already caught both sides of the conversation, with his amazing hearing. Secondly, I didn't want to risk jeopardizing Charlie's decision to let me go away with Edward. I needed to stay in his good graces.

"You're going to be without me for two weeks. You knew I'd have to come back and at least prepare some frozen meals for you. We don't want another meatloaf incident." I laughed, softly. "I'll make sure Edward brings me back home tonight before I go for the sleepover." I saw Jake flinch at that and his shoulders slumped as I hung up my phone.

It hurt like hell to see him look so obviously dejected. His broad shoulders and strong arms had held me so many time when I cried. He had been my rock. I wondered who he leaned on when he needed to cry.

"So..." I said, wondering how to segway into a new conversation. The room was quiet and I could feel several pairs of eyes on me. Somewhere nearby a clock ticked, reminding me that my time was limited.

"Looks like it stopped raining." Jake spoke, as though nothing had happened, saving me from awkward embarassment. "Whatta you say we get the hell away from here for a little while?"

I looked around the room at the expectant faces and nodded. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere else.

Twenty minutes later we parked outside Fusion. I couldn't believe Jake had brought me to the hottest dance club in town. What was he thinking?

"So now what?! Last time I checked, Fusion was still a twenty one and older club." I threw my arms across my chest and stared at Jake, daring him to prove me wrong.

"You're right, but come on. Don't tell me you've never used a fake I.D. before." His eyes grew large and mishievous.

"No, actually, I haven't. I don't own one! And - Charlie would kill me if he knew I was here. Is this place safe?" I asked, scrutinizing the faces of the excited patrons waiting to get into the club. They looked like a wild college crowd.

"That's funny. You're letting a group of vampires, who almost devoured you on your last birthday, take you away from your friends and family. Being alone with them in a foreign country for two weeks doesn't scare you, but going dancing with me does? Come on, Bella. Be brave! Live a little!"

When he put it like that, I felt a little foolish for being so nervous. It couldn't possibly be as big a risk as cliff diving or riding our motorcycles had been. "There's still the issue of us getting in. There's no way I'll pass for twenty one. You maybe...but not me." That settled that.

"Don't worry about that. It all depends on who you know." Jake came around the passenger side of the car and opened my door before I could do it. I wondered if my getup was even cute enough to pass for a clubbing outfit. I had to admit I was slightly curious about the mystery that always surrounded Fusion. Everyone in school knew about the place and anxiously awaited for their rite of passage. Some students claimed to have gotten inside with fake I.D.'s, but I doubted that most of the stories were true.

Jake escorted me to the front of the club, his hand gently rubbing against the small of my back as we walked. "Hey, Matt! My man! How's it been going?" I watched in shock as Jake happily approached the large man, punched his shoulder in that macho-bullshit way, and went through a ritual of handshakes with him.

"It's been good... Busy. We've missed you and your crew around here lately." he leaned in close to Jake and added, conspiratorially "Gina's been asking about you a lot, too. She got her panties all in a bunch the other day when I teased her about having a little crush on you. I think I hit a nerve. She's off tonight, though, so...Anyway - Is this your lady?" He got louder at the last part. Apparently that didn't need to be whispered.

"No, I'm not his la-" I started, in an attempt to rectify the asumption. Jake cut me off.

"This is Bella. Tonight's her last night in town for a little while and I'm trying to show her a good time." What the hell?! Where was my sane sweet Jake?

"Ahh..." The guy named Matt winked and gave Jake an 'I-know-what-you-mean' look before inclining his head towards the building. "Smart move bringing her here. Good crowd in there tonight, too. Plenty of inspiration. And for you, Bella- no cover charge."

"Well, isn't that nice. But, don't you want to see my I.D.?!" I asked, glaring at Jake. I was a little upset over the implications he had allowed. My question would surely get our cover busted wide open. It was only a matter of seconds before Matt would investigate and we would get turned away at the door. It would serve Jake right.

"Nah. Not necessary. If you're with Jake, that's all the proof I need." Matt smiled a creepy smile and held the door for me. "Good seeing you again, buddy ... "he nodded to Jake. "Enjoy yourself, Bella..." he said and lingered on me as I recoiled and moved as far away from him as I could while still slipping through the door in front of Jake.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I spun on my heels, almost causing Jake to run into me. "You wanta tell me what the fuck that was?!" I fumed, demanding an explaination.

Jake was trying not to laugh in my face which made me increasingly more angry, by the second. "That was an act to get you in here with no questions asked and no cover charges. It took a while of infiltrating to get to that point. I've been meaning to bring you here for a while. This place is great and I knew you'd love it once you got in!! Of course, I thought you were gonna blow it back there, for a second when you brought up checking I.D.'s."

His arms were out in defeat and his face was sincere. I knew without a doubt that he was telling me the truth, but I still had a few things on my mind that needed to get straightened out. "How often do you come here? And who is Gina? And what else have you been doing to get freebies?! Or should I say WHO else??" God, I needed to tone it down a bit. My voice grated on my own nerves. Besides, I held no claim to him.

"Stop. It's not like that. And I don't come here as often as you think. When I do hit the clubs, it is usually with the pack, to unwind. It's just nice to find some perks to being freakishly large and looking older than my age, ya know? Gina is just a girl I dance with sometimes. She works here part time on the weekends. No big deal. I don't drink. I don't take anyone home with me. I just dance."

"Does Billy know you come here?" I asked, sensing that Billy and Jacob had a much more lax relationship than Charlie and I.

"Probably, but it's a trust thing. If I screwed up, the whole pack would be able to turn me in. But, since he knows there's nothing going on, he doesn't really bother me too much about where I go and who I'm with. He just asks that I am back at a reasonable hour on school nights."

I wondered what it must be like to have that kind of freedom. I couldn't fathom it, yet, even though I knew my day was quickly approaching.

I looked out at the packed dance floor. All the stunning, beautiful people had apparently decided to show up, tonight.The place was hopping. Strobe lights flashed different colors everywhere and painted everyone in a strange surreal light. Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss' blared and the sexy, hypnotic beat made me smile. Jake's fingers entwined with mine as he carefully lead me out onto the floor, probably interpreting my smile to mean I wanted to dance.

"Oh, no.. I dont think..." I started to protest, but either Jake couldn't hear me over the music, or he pretended that he couldn't.

He finally stopped at a spot in the middle of the floor. I waited, wondering what he expected from me. I couldn't dance to save my life. Jake stood perfectly still for a second. His legs were together, his left hand over his right as he suddenly jumped out and spun, keeping time with the music. I recognized the fast, hip hop routine from the music video. I had no idea Jake could dance like that. He lowered himself down to his knees as Chris Brown sang "you're so hot, hot, hot, hot.."

Damn!

I swayed back and forth in a very generic way and watched in silent admiration as the song came to an end. I had been so caught up in his routine, that I didn't have time to be self conscious. "Those were some sick moves! I've always wanted to be able to dance like that. You know - with a purpose..."

"I could teach, you. It's really not too difficult once you get the basic moves down." he said, throwing me a wicked smile.

"This is me, you're talking about. I'm lucky I can manage to remember to alternate feet when I walk. Honestly, I have no rhythym..."

"Can you count?" he asked me, seriously, looking me straight in the face. "Because that's all you need. And pretty soon, you'll have some impressive moves to show off at clubs... Like mine." he smiled a big, cheeky smile as he stood facing me. "Here! Just mimic what I do, ok? I won't let you get hurt."

Was he for real? "I don't want to make a fool out of myself." I answered, in anticipation of falling flat on my butt.

"Even local choreographers come to this club, hoping to learn some new moves and incorporate them. People will think you're doing the same thing. It's very socially acceptable to experiment with different dances, here. Now this one has a four count. Listen to the song and come in on the up-beat. Ok. You want to start out like I did. Feet together. The first set of steps go like this..."

A few minutes later, we were dancing, together, somewhat out of synch on my part. I dropped down, and lost my balance. Jake laughed as I fell down for the third time and looked around nervously to make sure I wasn't being made fun of. No one seemed to care. I frowned as he offered me his hand to pull me up off of the floor, my mind wandering to something else. Someone else...

Edward wouldn't have let me fall in the first place, I realized. I started to feel a little queesy when I thought of what Edward would think of the whole thing. I knew he wouldn't approve of sneaking to get into a club illegally any more than he would approve of the way Jake kept stealing sidelong glances at me and puting his hands on my hips as he taught me to grind.

'No! You've got to really rock your hips, hard. Make a fast, jerking motion. You're being too fluid. For once, don't try to be so graceful. This is supposed to be more grunge. Animalistic! It needs to be fast, hard, hot!" he pulled me to the left and then back into place, demonstrating. I blushed profusely.

What was I doing? This was all wrong. Edward..

The surge of adrenaline over finding a new adventure was fading quickly. All I could think about was how it should've been Edward teaching me. Edward's hands on my hips and around my waist. I stepped back from Jake and looked into his eyes, trying to find the right words. I was just about to tell Jake I was ready to call it a night when suddenly, a pair of striking, blue eyes were burning a hole in me from across the room.

The petite blond girl stomped toward us with angry, bouncy steps. She was about five foot four, with long cascading curls that sprang with each step she took. She had a cute, girl-next-door, sort of look about her, once you got past the daggers coming from her eyes. At first I thought maybe she would just walk past us. Maybe she was glaring at someone else. I didn't know her and I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything to deserve the fierce looks I was getting.

She stopped, slightly off center behind Jake and was nearly eye level with me. "Bella, you're not even trying, anymore. What's wrong?" Jake complained, as I stood frozen, staring over his shoulder.

"Hello, Jake." Her voice was melodic, yet had a slight edge. There was something compelling about her, even in her pissed off state. She folded her arms across her shoulders as Jake turned.

"Gina. I thought you were off tonight." He was on cloud nine and made no attempt to hide it. Who was this girl? I got the feeling there was more to it than the story he told.

"I am!! But, there's nothing that says I can't hang out here on my off days. Where else am I going to find a worthy partner?" she purred and ran the back of her hand down Jake's jaw in slow motion as she said 'partner'. "So... who's your friend?" she asked, sizing me up as if I was her competition.

"Oh!" Jake turned and held his palm upward toward me, making the introductions. "I'm sorry. Gina, this is Bella! Bella, Gina."

"Nice to meet you." I lied.

"Uh huh. So, what are you - like, his date or something? How come I've never seen you here with him, before?" As pretty as she was, she seemed to have some major self esteem issues.

"Bella and I are very close. This is the first time I've ever brought her here, but we go way back." Jake explained, probably not sure how to introduce me to her. He was trying to save face for both of us and not say anything that would make me feel uncomfortable.

"I'm Jake's best friend and it really is nice to finally meet you. Jake has told me some pretty flattering things about you..."

"Really?!" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

No, not really.

Her body language softened and she let down her guard a little once she was convinced I wasn't her competition. She smiled at me but mostly her eyes watched Jake's face with a dreamy admiration. "Now I'm curious...What has Jake told you about me."

Uh oh. Jake flashed me a warning glance that I read loud and clear. I didn't want to blow this for him, but I was reading the signs and I could tell there was a definite spark between them. I had already proven that I was a succesful matchmaker. Could I do it again?

"Well, I hear that you are quite the dancer. I have to say I'm a little jealous since I've got two left feet and was born with the curse of clumsy." That put her completely at ease.

"So. Jake was teaching you how to dance?"

"Kind of. But I think I spent more time falling than dancing." I admitted, attempting to be as non- threatening as I could.

"Well, by all means, go back to the dance lesson. It sounds like you need it more than I do right now." she laughed gently and leaned back, prepared to wait it out.

"I've got a better idea." I said, my mind setting a plan in motion. "Why don't you show me how you and Jake dance, together. I'd like to see what the end result is. You know - I am curious about what it looks like when you don't fall down every two seconds."

"Bella. I don't want you to feel left out." Jake said in a considerate way.

"I won't be left out. I just want to watch you guys to see if I can get the hang of it. This will be inspiring." I added with as much enthusiasm as I could muster without looking too fake.

Gina smirked, all too happy to oblige. "Shall we show her how it's done?"

I watched in awe. Gina stood, facing Jake and put her hands on her knees. Her eyes pursued him in a come-hither way. She rocked her hips in the fast, furious way that Jake had tried showing me a moment ago. I had to admit, she made the dance look extremely sexy. Much more sexy than when I did it. Of course she hadn't fallen onto her rear end. That probably had something to do with it.

I noticed that her movements varied slightly from the basic movements that Jake had tried teaching me. Jake had been showing me his choreography, but in actuality, Gina's moves were a lot more flirtatious and almost dirty at some parts. The female version was more advanced and looked a bit more complicated.

She pushed off of Jake's chest, playfully, going down to the floor, only to quickly arch her back and come up again to a standing position. There was a lot of fast switching of feet positions and the kicks alone would probably take me forever to be able to do without killing myself. She had talent. I knew Jake recognized it too, because he kept looking at her in an encouraging way.

When the song ended, I clapped as Gina threw her arms around him and kissed Jake's cheek, clearly caught up in the excitement of the moment. Jake blushed and I'm sure he figured the scene was a little awkward for me.

"You two make that look easy. It's amazing watching you together." I complimented them before excusing myself to go buy a bottled water. Jake offered to get my drink for me, but I refused and fed him some line about needing to get off the dance floor for a minute to cool down.

I took my sweet time getting the water and held back to slowly drink it at a table near the rear of the club, where I could oversee everything. Out in the distance, I could see Gina clinging to Jake and laughing as they danced somewhat lewdly to a slower song. Jake lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him while he tipped her upside down, briefly.

I didn't go back to the dance floor, but I could tell that the chemistry between them was obvious. After another twenty minutes had gone by, Jake came and found me still sitting at the table. Gina had excused herself to the ladies room.

"Bella. Are you mad at me? Why didn't you come back out? If it's Gina that's bothering you, I can ditch her and we can -"

"No. You don't have to ditch Gina.. She seems cool. I just needed to rest. I guess I didn't realize how much all that dancing took out of me."

"You mean how much all that falling took out of you." he corrected, tongue in cheek. He lowered his eyes." Sorry. I couldn't resist. Seriously though, are you ok? Do you want to head out of here?"

"Whenever you're ready. If you're still dancing with Gina, I can wait. I'm not really in a big hurry to be anywhere."

"Gina's getting ready to head back, anyway. She's got school tomorrow."

"School? You mean High school?!" I asked, wondering why I hadn't seen her around if that was the case.

"No. Gina's attends the community college, actually."

"So.. you've still got a thing for older women?" I smirked.

"What? A thing for her... You think that I...? That Gina and I...?" The stuttering confirmed it. It was strange to see Jake acting this way. For a split second I wondered if he had imprinted on her. I decided not to ask about it, because Jake was either in denial about his true feelings, or he hadn't really opened up to the idea fully. It was only a matter of time until he would realize it.

A couple minutes later, Gina caught up with us and made plans to meet Jake at Fusion again the following Friday. Out of politeness, she invited me along. Even if I hadn't been out of town with Edward at the time, I wouldn't have taken her up on it. She smiled as I politely declined the offer, but told her Jake would definitely be there. I said my goodbyes to Gina, hugged her, and told Jake I would wait for him back at his car.

I took advantage of my few moments alone to call Edward. "Hi sexy. Are you missing me yet?"

"I started missing you the second I drove off. Hunting with Jasper is necessary, but I find myself somewhat distracted at the times when you're away. So, are you leaving Jake's house, yet?" came the silky, trusting voice I loved so much.

"Not exactly. I mean, I'm ready for you to come pick me up, but we aren't at his house. We went out for a little while...dancing..." I knew I'd have to come clean and face the music and I wondered how upset Edward was going to be.

"There'll be plenty of time for you to tell me about it on the ride back." his tone stayed cool, collected. If he was pissed, I couldn't tell. "I'll meet you back at the border in twenty minutes."

When Jake returned, he had a stupid looking grin on his face and some glossy pink lipstick on his lower lip. "What?" he asked when I smiled knowingly at him.

We arrived back at the borderline within fifteen minutes. Apparently that was another common trait. Edward and Jacob both loved to drive a little too fast.

Jake's eyes narrowed and his face turned to a scowl as he noticed the silver volvo waiting with the engine running. His good mood was quickly diminished. Before he could get back on the tyrade about Edward, I lead the conversation in a different direction.

"Thanks for a fun night, Jake. That was really amazing. And Gina is incredible. I'm glad I got a chance to meet her."

"Me too, but Bella, please be careful. I'm still scared to death to have you that far away from me. If you need to talk about anything, you know you can call me at any time, day or night, right?" I gave Jake a smile and replied with "Thank you. Everything will be fine. Just pray for a smooth flight. I get kinda nervous and edgy on long flights."

"Well, if you puke all over Edward, make sure you get a picture of it and send it to me right away." He joked as the volvo's engine revved, loudly. "Will you at least call to let me know you arrived safely?"

I sighed, and agreed to call Jake right after I called Charlie. Then I hugged Jake quickly and turned to walk away.

I confessed everything to Edward on the ride back to Charlie's house. I waited for the yelling and the onslaught, but it never came.

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun." Edward said in a very non-judgemental way. He was even smiling at me a little, pleased that I had enjoyed myself.

"I did." I admitted, honestly. "But I'm holding him back. That's why I can't hang out with him any more. When we come back home I am going to say goodbye to him... for good."

Edward did a double take, almost giving himself whiplash. His beautiful topaz eyes went wide with surprise. "What?! Why?"

I explained about Gina, in a brief overview, not wanting to betray Jake's trust and disclose too many of their private moments together. I finished by telling Edward that I had arranged for Gina and Jake to spend more time together while we were away. Hopefully nature would take it's course.

Edward kissed my lips, slowly, tenderly, lavishing me for a long moment. When he finally pulled away, I was breathless and wanting more, as always.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"For you. For everything." he said, his eyes full of raw emotion.

_A/N: So that wraps up the day with Jake. And I didn't have to kill him or mutilate him or anything in order to get him off Bella's back. I've always wanted a happy ending for Jake too. Anyway - There is one chapter remaining on this story. I might just go ahead and finish this one before returning to Bon Voyage. I've been out a lot lately, trying to find a new job since my hours were cut to part time status where I work... Business is very slow. Anyway - it means I haven't had as much time on the computer lately. I'm sorry - I can't give an estimate on how long it will take for the new chapter, just please have faith that I will be working on it, little by little. I love you guys amd your reviews have gotten quite interesting, lately. Thanks for all the positive feedback! It means more than you know.. _


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: Wow... the last one.. Has anything changed since the last time I posted a chapter? Nope... so let's just forego the disclaimer, ok, guys? Anyway.. here it is! I hope you all love it and think it is worth the extra long time it took to finally wrap it up. 

Without further ado... here it is. The final chapter!

Ch 32

The flight had been fairly smooth if you didn't count the layover and connecting flight that we all just barely made in time. Even though I had slept for most of the long journey, my dreams had been plagued with irrational fears and nightmares.

The worst had been the one about the flaming hamburger that chased Charlie around the house, trying to kill him. At long last, we had reached our destination. The cabin finally depressurized and my ears popped, painfully, as we taxied up the runway and connected to the terminal.

As the plane came to a stop, I jumped up, relieving the restless leg syndrome that had set in somewhere over the last few hours. But it was all worth it. The crisp cold air hit my senses all at once as the door of the plane opened, allowing the passengers to leave.

"Bella, Tervetuloa jotta Suomi!" I smiled as Edward spoke their native language. Then in English. "Bella, Welcome to Finland!"

I grabbed my carry on from the overhead compartment and waited for Rose, Emmett, Jasper and Alice to find theirs and make their way off the plane, first. Once they moved, Edward took my luggage from me and carried it along with his own duffel. Carlisle and Esme brought up the rear.

The Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was immense and quite beautiful. The decor leaned toward post-modern with tons of windows and a lot of white tables and chairs. Car rental companies were already busy, catering mostly to locals and the few tourists who had just flown in. Various gift shops loomed from every corner, but the focal point of the airport was the many sets of escalators, branching out from the center and criss crossing each other.

I didn't know how many floors there were at this airport or where the baggage claim area happened to be. Although I had heard that people in Finland also spoke English, it was apparent that they preferred only to speak it when absolutely necessary. And so, all of the directional signs were printed in Finnish. The wording was either too advanced or too slang for me to understand.

I had been teaching myself the Finnish language for the past eight months, hoping that one day I would have a reason to use what I'd learned. I'd studied from books, audio tapes, and internet C.D.' s, and wasn't very confident in my ability to hold a conversation, just yet. In my defense, I never thought I would actually be standing here so soon. It was a dream come true, but also a little daunting.

I pulled the sacred concert tickets out of my pocket, glanced briefly at them in amazement once again, and patted them lovingly before pushing them back safely down to their hiding place. When I looked up again, I realized there were still several stories above us. I almost fell over, trying to see all the way to the top.

"Wow. I can't believe I am actually here! In Helsinki!" I breathed, hanging onto Edward for support.

"If you're this excited already, I can't wait to see your face tomorrow when we go backstage." He smiled his famous, dazzling crooked smile.

Backstage! My mind was reeling! I couldn't believe the lengths Edward had gone to, already.

"Ummm. I hate to get technical on you, but we aren't in Helsinki, yet. This is still the town of Vantaa. It was the closest airport, though. We are about twenty miles outside of Helsinki right now." Emmett told me.

"We will hire a taxi after we get our luggage. It's only a half hour ride to the center of Helsinki. Now to find our luggage...We should probably just ask someone." Carlisle interjected, while looking around. He spoke fluent Finnish along with about thirty other languages. I remembered being shocked to hear him conversing in Finnish with the pilot of Finn-Air before our flight.

"Oh, let me. I've been dying to try out my Finnish." I said as I bounded up to what I hoped was an information desk. The blond put down her pad and pencil and regarded me for a minute before muttering "Hyvaa paivaa!"

I knew it to mean 'Hello' or more literally 'Good day'. It was the standard formal greeting and I beamed at hearing the words pronounced exactly as they had been on the audio tapes back at home. It was encouraging to know that I hadn't just wasted eight months on improper pronunciation.

I repeated the greeting to her but decided not to follow it up with the Finnish phrases for "My name is Bella and I am from America", as the books and tapes would've had me do next. It was obvious from the looks of our motley crew that we weren't locals. Instead, I tried my hand at the practical question that was burning on my mind. '"Miisa matkalautkut ovat?" Where are the suitcases? So far, so good.

The blond's face lit up and a string of incomprehensible sounds rushed from her mouth in a flurry. She was motioning and speaking at such a fast pace that I couldn't keep up with my limited knowledge of the language. My mouth dropped and I saw Carlisle supress a smile.

I held up a hand and stopped her, my face growing pink. "I'm sorry. I only know a little bit. I'm still learning."

The girl tried to hide her disappointment, but I saw it, all the same. "Oh. No problem. Just take the escalator down a couple floors and you'll see the baggage area on your right."

I nodded and thanked her in her prefered language. "Kiitos paljan."

"You're welcome." she responded, her eyes dead, having given up hope of any further conversation in Finnish.

After reclaiming all of our luggage and making my phone calls to Charlie and Jacob, Carlisle secured a taxi, rather effortlessly, and we were on our way. The waking city of Helsinki came into view a little less than a half hour later. How strange! Jetlag hadn't set in even though I realized that if I were back home, I would be getting ready for bed right now.. Since it was the dead of winter, it would remain cold and slightly overcast during our stay. It was one of the reasons the destination worked so well for all of us.

I tried to look everywhere and take in as much detail as I could along the way. It was sensory overload. The beauty of the snow covered cathedrals took my breath away. "Wow." I muttered an understatement. The realization that I was halfway across the world was finally sinking in.

"This city was originally just a small fishing town. It wasn't until about eighteen twelve that it was modernized under Russian rule." Carlisle explained. He was way better than any tour guide I could've hoped for. Whether he spoke from life experiences or from what he had learned in books, I couldn't tell, but he seemed to have a story to tell about everything.

He pointed out the Kiasma Museum and the American Embassy as we drove past and promised we could visit each, if we wanted, at some point during the trip. Finally the taxi came to a halt in front of our hotel. Hotel KДmp was the only five star hotel in the city. That made it the best accomodations, which was the reason the Cullen's had chosen it.

"Reservations for Cullen. Four rooms." Carlisle calmly stated, as we all sauntered up to the front check-in desk, together. The attendant gave him a half frown and nervously typed away at his computer while scrutinizing everyone. I was sure in his mind, the scandal was almost too much to bear. He must've had his doubts about what kind of operation Carlisle was running, because he seemed reuctant to give each of the underage couples rooms together. Carlisle had to explain that we were all siblings and he and Esme were our parents in order to pacify him.

Once everything checked out and Carlisle had presented his platinum credit cards and passport to verify his identification, we were finally, grudgingly, presented with our room keys and a map of the surrounding area. Carlisle's generous tip to both the front desk attendant and the bellhop quickly eased any remaining doubt in their minds. After all, money was the universal language in this country as well.

As our luggage was loaded onto several dolly's and brought to our rooms, Edward came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me back against him and nuzzled into my neck and ear. The feel of his arms around my waist and his cool breath tickling my ear started to work me into a frenzy.

"You'd better be careful, there,... _brother_.. We wouldn't want people to get the right idea." I giggled.

The sound apparently turned him on, because his body instantly responded to me in drastic ways that made me blush profusely. "Ya know - it's too bad you're my sister. There were so many things I wanted to do during our stay."

Touche! "Oh yeah...? Like what?" I purred, turning to face Edward while I ran my hands through his luscious, perfectly messy, hair.

"An infinite spectrum of possibilities.." In response, his hands immediately found my hips and his smile became more pronounced.

"Ugh! Would you two get a room, already?" Jasper asked, pouting as Alice grinned up a storm.

"We're working on it." Edward smiled at Jasper and pointed to the bellhop who walked past, pushing our luggage to the elevator.

"Wow! And what's up with you, little Missy?" Jasper asked Alice, clearly confused. "Your emotions are a strange mixture. I'm sensing conspiracy, exhileration, guilt, and a hilarious secret. So...why exactly are you ready to bust, Alice!"

"No reason. It's just...Well, I checked before coming here to make sure they have internet connections in all the rooms."

Jasper was dumbfounded. "You're excited about the internet!" he asked, waiting for the rest of the explaination.

"Yes. That means we can look up any info we might need." she replied shyly, waiting to see if it would register with him.

"And, uh... just what kind of info might we need, Alice?" Edward smirked and joined in the game. He was the only one besides Alice who already knew what was in the works.

"Oh. You know. Just the usual things. Keeping up on the news, local weather, how things are back home, learning the occasional music video or two "  
She said the last part so quickly I wasn't sure I had heard her right at first.

"Music vid - Oh no! You _DIDN'T_!" Jasper almost shouted as he rocked backward. His look of disbelief and then absolute fear confirmed my suspicions.

"Well, it wasn't fair the way we ganged up on you last time. I figured you deserved a chance to redeem yourself. A rematch, if you will. So I brought the twister game along." Her eyes glistened and she lifted her chin, assertively.

Jasper and Emmett both groaned at the probability of their impending doom, once again.

Fifteen minutes later, after all of the luggage was delivered, we each inspected our luxurious suites. Our four rooms were all in a row. It was very convenient in some regards, but it would make anonymity and discretion fairly impossible. I guess the front desk manager hadn't thought it would be an issue since we were all "family".

"Don't worry about the proximity." Edward said, after correctly interpreting my bleak expression. "Rose and Emmett are loud enough to offer enough cover for the rest of us."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The remainder of the day flew by. We walked through the Center of Helsinki, shopping and eating along the way and marveling at the many differences and similarities in our cultures.

Before I knew it, Edward and I said our goodnights and headed back to our room for the night. Rose and Emmett had already excused themselves over an hour ago and I could only imagine what was going on in their room by now, since they didn't actually need to sleep.

The thought of being alone with Edward in a hotel room for nearly two weeks sent goosebumps all down my body. I knew his resolve was strong, but I wondered if I could finally convince him that we were ready to take our relationship to the next level.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins, briefly countering the fatigue that threatened to consume me. If only I didn't need to sleep.  
My eyelids drooped and by the time we had walked the short distance back to the hotel, I was thoroughly exhausted. Damn! The combination of jetlag, a full stomach, and cold, fresh, air was finally catching up to me at the most inopportune time.

Sure enough, the noise coming from Rose and Emmett's room was obscene. Edward rubbed his temples and made a face, while doing his best to shut out the images and voices in his head. I excused myself and brushed my teeth and hair and dressed for bed in the bathroom. Alice had packed for me, and instead of my usual beloved practical sweats, all of my comfortable sleepwear had been traded out for satin and lace negligees, chemises and matching panties. I finally opted for a cream colored set with an intricate floral embroidery.

As soon as I opened the door and stepped out, Edward's jaw dropped. I was touched to see that he had brought his red flannel pajamas along and had changed into them while I was in the bathroom. His subtle clothing drastically clashed with my provocative nightwear.

Edward's eyes scoured my body, very pleased with what he saw. "I don't have to ask what kind of mood you're in tonight do I?" he asked in a thick, throaty voice.

I patted the bed next to me as I sat down, motioning for him to come closer. After debating for less than two seconds, Edward crossed the room and pulled me into his arms, throwing caution to the wind. His kisses started slow and gentle, but gradually grew in intensity as he laid me down onto the bed and pressed his body on top of mine. I was so consumed with him I could barely breathe. Not that I minded one bit.

The pleasure he incited in me was incomparable to any other thrill in the world. Edward slowly lowered the strap at my right shoulder and kissed me along my collarbone, taking his sweet time with me. When the other strap came down, I gasped in surprise and pulled Edward to me, desperately.

"Edward... Make love to me." I pleaded. My eyes closed as his lips brushed over my bare shoulders and neck. The reprieve of closing my eyes betrayed me, and when my eyes didn't open again, automatically, Edward correctly guessed the obvious.

"I will...but not tonight." Suddenly, he stopped kissing me and sighed as he moved to a more innocent spot, alongside me. He slowly lifted the straps of my chemise back into place, much to my dismay.

It took all of my will to force my eyes back open. "Why did you stop? And don't give me that chivalry crap, again. I can only go so long before I'm going to explode. The aching is awful and I have no way of easing it. And every time I'm around you it gets worse. I know you're afraid you'll ruin my reputation or something, but I don't care what anyone thinks about me except you. And you are torturing me by making me wait like this. Just answer me honestly. Do you want me?"

"I want you more than you can possibly imagine. And I know we're supposed to hold out until we're married, but maybe, given our situation, it's ok to be a little unconventional. I think we both knew we wouldn't make it that long. I only stopped, tonight because you're exhausted. I'm sorry. Sometimes I lose track of your human necessities. It's wrong of me to be so caught up in the moment that I'm neglecting your needs."

My needs? Oh, how I loved the way that sounded. I wanted him to satisfy my physical needs at that exact moment. I started to complain that I wasn't too tired for him after all, but Edward cut through all my fussing. "I promise you that we will have our time , when it's right. Tonight your sleep is more important. Besides, you'll want to be fully rested when we get to that level."

He slid in next to me and pulled the covers up over us as he turned me slightly and started to rub my back. He had already made up his mind and no amount of arguing on my part was going to get us back to where we were a minute ago. It was over for tonight.

It wasn't long before I couldn't fight the peaceful sensation coming over me, and after a few minutes I didn't want to, anymore. I hadn't realized just how tired I really was until then.

"That feels nice." I murmured, drowsily as Edward's hands floated over my back. The long soft strokes were reminders from our day at the spa. Ah, that wonderful day...

"I respect you and I love you with all my heart, Bella."

"Mmmm... you ...too..." I barely got the words out. The last conscious thought before I faded, was about vaguely hearing a soft lullaby being hummed over the moaning from the room next door.

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"Is she catatonic or something?" someone whispered.

"I don't think so but I don't know. Is it supposed to take that long to snap out of jetlag?" came the soft response.

"Now how would I know that?" An angrier voice. It sounded a little like Rosalie.

"Let's poke her with a stick and see what happens." That was definitely Emmett's voice.

"If anyone pokes me with anything, they're not going to like what happens to them!" I spat my idle threat, and tried closing my eyes even tighter, willing them all away.

I reluctantly cracked opened one eye and noticed Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett still there. They stared at me sideways, like they'd never seen a human sleeping before. Emmett actually smiled and waved at me. " Ugh! Why are you guys all in my room? Where's Edward?" I grumbled.

"Out getting something for you to eat... in case you ever woke up again. And he's probably getting everything ready for your ultra romantic surprise after the concert, too."

"Rose! Why did you say that? You know Edward wanted to surprise her with it." Alice shrieked, reprimanding her.

"Well, then _HE _should've been here instead of telling all of _US_ to keep an eye on her. It's his own fault, really. Besides, I didn't give away his big secret. She still doesn't even know where she's going." Rose puffed out her chest in defiance and stared at Alice with a very bitchy expression on her otherwise perfectly beautiful face.

"Um, guys? I'm right here. I can hear you, ya know. So. Edward's taking me somewhere after the concert, huh? Come on! You can't leave it like that. You might as well tell me the rest of it, now. You've already ruined his surprise."

"Oh, crap. Don't say that!" Alice looked horror stricken as she turned and stared down Rosalie. "Damn you, Rose! You're going to get Edward all pissed off and I'm not in the mood to deal with him being grumpy on vacation. If this hits the fan, you're going down alone."

"So...Why don't you guys just tell me what it is and I promise to act surprised when Edward finally reveals the secret." I was so bad. I'd never been one to let myself be surprised if I could help it.

One year for Christmas, when I was seven years old, I had gone as far as opening all my presents the night before and rewrapping them again by Christmas morning. Of course, the bad wrapping job had been a big tip off for Charlie.

"No. There's no way you'd be able to contain the excitement and act nonchalant if you knew what it was." Jasper said, looking very serious.

"And if you started screaming and spazzing out, then Edward would know that you knew. And he'd know _HOW_ you knew. Then he'd come looking for us to kick our asses and we'd _ALL_ know that _HE_ knew that _WE_ knew. Anyway - we'd be 'up the river'." Emmett finished, drawing blank looks from everyone in the room.

"The phrase is 'up a creek"... but, yeah." Jasper nodded, solemnly.

"There's no way in hell we're telling you. None of us wants to incur Edward's wrath right now. And this way, you can _REALLY_ be surprised when he takes you there. Wont that be more fun?"

"Hmmph." I grumbled.

"Besides, nevermind about all that! Right now you should be focused on getting ready for the concert." Alice stated.

"There's still plenty of time for that. The concert doesn't even start until five o'clock, right?"

"Yeah..." Alice and Jasper both looked at me expectantly.

"And it's only..." I turned my watch around on my wrist and read the time. "...only two o'clock now. Wait! That can't be right. I must not have changed the time when we got here. Someone - give me the correct time!" I tapped the glass face, wondering if the battery had died.

"Um.. no. That time is correct. You've been out cold for almost fifteen hours." Jasper said.

"WHAT! Why didn't anyone wake me?" I shouted, instantly awake and panicked.

"Hey, I wanted to. They..." Emmett gestured, pointing furiously at his siblings "... told me it was mean to tickle you or poke you with a stick or put your hand in a glass of warm water..."

Jasper gave him a disgusted look and turned back to me. "Anyway..Edward said you were really out of it and needed the rest... so we just let you sleep it off."

"Ahhh! Sleep it off! What if I'd slept through the concert!" I jumped out of bed, not caring what I looked like and rushed to the bathroom slamming the door behind me."You guys can all go, now. I need to get ready and quick!"

"Fine with me." Rose said to Emmett. "Well, our job here is done. Little Miss Sunshine is awake and fine. Let's go back to our room, now..." Rose's syrupy sweet tone could only mean one thing. She turned dramatically and stomped out of the room.

"Wait. I'm right behind you." I heard Emmett giggle as he ran out of my room after Rose. Good riddance. I pulled on a tight pair of jeans and my favorite black Rasmus shirt and started applying my makeup.

"Bella. Do you need any help in there?" Came a faint voice.

"No, Alice. Thanks. I'm fine." I rolled my eyes. The last thing I needed was an Alice makeover right now. Her 'pretty preppy princess' style would not do for this concert. I needed an edgier look to fit in with the likes of this crowd.

I applied a thick line of black eyeliner on my eyelids and smiled as I looked at my reflection.

"Please, Bella. Can I come in?" She wailed outside of the door like a cat whose tail was being stepped on, repeatedly.

When she didn't go away, I finally opened the door and let her in. I couldn't afford a migraine before the concert.

"Oh!" her hand flew to her mouth once she stepped inside the bathroom and noticed my dark transformation. Her wide eyes stared at me as if she were afraid.

"It's still just me underneath all this makeup, Alice." I laughed. "This is pretty much the norm at any Rasmus concert." I said as I applied my black nail polish, carefully.

Alice watched me in work in silence, her face solemn. "Bella. I need your help." She said very sweetly and softly. "I like the group and their music and I'm glad Jasper and I will be going to the concert with you guys, it's just...Well...This style is so new to me...I don't think I could..." She looked at me with a lost expression as she tugged at her pink shirt and held out her matching mauve purse with a lower case 'a' on it.

"Alice Cullen! Are you asking me to give you a makeover?" I asked, stunned beyond belief.

"I can't even remember the last time someone worked on me. Do you think you can make me into a goth princess like you?"

I wasn't necessarily going for 'goth princess' as she called it, but I smiled and motioned for Alice to sit down as I walked toward her with the thick black eye liner and mascara. This would be fun for a change. I rubbed my hands together, and laughed a maniacal laugh as I approached Alice.

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"There! My work is almost done... It just needs ..." I looked around for the black crow feathers I had purchased at one of the local vendors during my walk with Edward, yesterday. "Aha!" I exclaimed, attaching the feathers to her hair with bobby pins at various angles.

Alice shrieked as she looked into the mirror. "Oh.My.God. Look at me!"

"Bella. How's it coming along in there?" Edward's velvety smooth voice called to me. He was back!

I flung the bathroom door opened, and found Edward already dressed in jeans and a dark 'Rasmus' shirt, with a picture of their latest C.D. on the front. His hair was wind-blown and sexy as hell. A similar looking Jasper, stood next to him. Jasper wore black jeans with a studded belt and a black 'HIM' t-shirt. Very appropriate since both bands worked closely together under the same manager. I was impressed.

Both Jasper and Edward had paid attention to one small, important, detail. They each had painted the nail on their ring finger jet black like the lead singer. I was so proud that they had noticed and were dedicated enough to do that.

"You both look sexy as hell! This is going to be so much fun! " I couldn't contain my excitement as I ran to Edward and hugged him tightly.

Jasper's jaw dropped and he stared, shell shocked, at Alice who had been hiding behind me. She lost her cover when I ran to Edward. "Holy shit, Alice."

"I know ... it's a different look than you're used to seeing on me. Bella helped me so I wouldn't be embarrassed at the concert... What...what do you think?" Alice's already beautiful and pale features had taken on an even more exotic look. Her eyes almost looked Egyptian, courtesy of some creative contouring with the eye liner and dark shadow.

"It's so hot!" Jasper whispered with an intense, lustful look on his face.

"Wow. Why don't _you two_ get a room?" Edward laughed, tongue in cheek.

Jasper raised one eyebrow, smiled at the irony, and asked Edward "That's a good idea. Do we have time?" He nudged Alice, causing a small laugh to escape from her throat.

"No! Not if we're going to make it to the backstage meet and greet before the concert." I answered for Edward. I grabbed my purse and walked to the door, taking charge. "Come on. There's no way I want to miss that part!"

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A little more than two hours later, we waited in the front row for the show to start. I was still tongue tied. I had tried to maintain my composure during the backstage meeting, but in all actuality, I couldn't remember if I had made much sense. I probably just ended up looking like every other crazed fan who had ever gone in there before me. At least Alice's feathers were a big hit and the guys had been impressed that I knew how to properly pronounce all of their first and last names and even say a little in Finnish to them.

I smiled and pulled my newly autographed pictures and C.D. out of my bag and re-read the inscription on each one again, hugging them when I finished. Surreal didn't even begin to describe it. Rose and Emmett had no real interest in my music and hadn't come to the concert with the rest of us. I wondered if they were having anywhere near as much fun as we were.

The show started ten minutes later, with some opening band that I'd never heard of before. They were a little too screechy for my taste, but I waited, patiently, biding my time. After their seventh song, the crowd became restless and began chanting "Rasmus", which infuriated the band, causing them to throw down their microphones and equipment and promptly walk off the stage while giving everyone the finger.

An eruption of clapping and cheers continued and eventually the chants of "Rasmus! Rasmus!" got louder. The crowd was undeterred.

Finally the lights dimmed briefly and surged once, shining on the new backdrop on stage. The enormous butterfly symbol that was illuminated was the same as the one on Edward's shirt. It was the cover of the latest C.D. and was scaled to perfection.

The crowd went frantic. People screamed and cried. When the band finally took stage, several girls fainted and had to be carried out by security.

As the music and beat became fast and more pronounced, Edward leaned over and yelled loud enough for me to make out what he was saying over the bass. "So...Why don't you show me some of the dance moves Jacob was teaching you?"

"What! Here! Right now? There's not really enough room and I'm not very good at it. Besides, the steps are complicated and will take a lot of practice to get down." I admitted.

"I figured. Leave it to Jacob to make things more difficult and complicated than they need to be." Edward said in a rather smug voice.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked innocently while hopping up and down to the music. Jasper and Alice already had their arms around each other and were lost to the rest of the world. They kissed occasionally, and danced much slower than made sense for the beat of the music. I envied them.

"Come closer, Bella. I'll show you a kind of dancing that you'll like better. The moves flow nicely and are easy to get th hang of. No memorizing needed." Edward promised as he pulled me to him, from behind. His hands snaked around my waist, then lowered to my hips as he rocked his body with mine in a single rhythym. I gasped at the very sexual nature and how effortless he made it.

Natural instinct kicked in and my body responded in a primal way. The music slightly faded into the background as I became completely in tune to the feel of Edward's hips grinding into mine and his breath on the back of my neck. I would've never danced like this with anyone except Edward. My heart fluttered erratically as his hands flew over my body, seductively bending and twisting me so that I moved simultaneously with him.

The concert lasted for two hours and was adrenaline filled, high-octane good! It ended with one of their older songs and a dedication.

"We wanted to give a shout out to a few of our new friends from the United States and play this one since she mentioned that it's her favorite. Some of you newer fans might not recognize this one because it's not from our 'Hide from the Sun' C.D. It's actually an oldie, but a goody, so I hope you like it. This song's called 'One and Only' ! Sing along if you know the words." Then to me he said "Bella, Se arka kokous te ja sinun ystДvyys! Se on sinun aika! Ajaa kaikki mikД johtua jotta sinun huolehtia, tДnД iltana! Nyt kuluva ainoa on ajaksi te!"

I blushed, waved at the guys and smiled. "So, what did he say?" Edward asked me, in a slightly edgy, jealous voice.

"You mean you don't know?" I gasped.

"Carlisle knows the language, not me. I never bothered to learn it. Oh, Don't look so surprised. Just because I've been around for a hundred odd years doesn't mean I've learned everything that there was to learn in that time."

"Wow...I guess I finally found something _I'm_ better at." I smirked.

Edward pressed his body tightly to mine, his teeth barely touching my neck, teasing. His tongue danced along my neck and my earlobe, intoxicating me. "I know something I'm pretty good at...So...Do you want to tell me or not?" he whispered, dazzling me like only he could.

"He said 'It was nice meeting you and your friends. It's your time. Do whatever comes to your mind tonight! This one's for you." I breathed heavily, and closed my eyes as I leaned into Edward's hard body.

"Well...I guess you're still better at persuasion techniques than I am." I pouted.

He grinned and chuckled softly. "No. I'm not. You've done that same thing to me so many times it's not even funny. I've just had more practice with fighting my urges when you do it."

As the final song started up, we both sang along, loudly, to make up for anyone around us who didn't know it. The moment couldn't have been more perfect. I was exactly where I wanted to be, with Edward, listening to my favorite group sing my favorite song.

"_Have I been away too long? Did I miss all the action?  
What happened to the neighbors and the girl next door?  
Did you get my greetings? What happened to the graffiti?  
And what about this crap on the walls?  
Did I forget about someone? No offence but I had to.  
I didn't have respect for the violence.  
And what about this music? Did I forget about something else when I left in silence?_

_Don't let the shadows reach me [don't let the shadows reach me  
Don't let the shadows swallow the light while I'm sleeping.  
Whatever comes to your mind just hit me._

_[ahahahahaha  
It's my time! My time! The one and only lonely [ahahahahaha  
It's my time! My time! The one and only lonely_

_Did I win the first prize? Have I crossed enemy lines?  
Got stabbed in the back but I don't know why.  
Like walking on the eggshells. Stepping over landmines.  
Waiting for the bombing from the open sky.  
Did you forget about something? Did you forget about you and me?  
And what about this envy around me?  
Did I do something wrong? Have I been away too long in the middle of these changes?_

_Don't let the shadows reach me [don't let the shadows reach me  
Don't let the shadows swallow the light while I'm sleeping Whatever comes to your mind just hit me_

_Whatever comes to your mind tonight."_

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We dropped Jasper and Alice off at the hotel after the concert.

"They're not going with us..." I stated the obvious, using logic to deduce that our next destination must be much more private.

"No. Not to this place. This is something special just for us." Edward confirmed. "Besides, I don't think Alice is too sorry. She's seen it before up in Canada... and Jasper's been dying to get her alone ever since he first saw her in your room. So now she's off to help him prepare for a game of Twister."

"How can you really prepare for Twister? I mean, each game is different, so you never know where you're going to land. And, besides, I kinda got the impression he doesn't really like that game...?" I said, then noticed Edward's 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' expression.

"Please don't make me explain it." he groaned, mortified at the prospect of having to spell it out for me.

"_Oh_.." I said, my face turning red for the millionth time.

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"It's a clear night. That's definitely a good sign that we'll be able to see it." Edward talked to me as if I knew what was going on.

"If you think we're going to see animals this late at night, you might be disappointed. It's already late and too dark for my eyes to see anything." I said, intuitively guessing that we were on our way to view some native wildlife. It fit with the clues he had given me and explained how Alice might have 'seen it in Canada'.

Edward's lips turned upward into a smile, though I had no idea what I had said that was funny. He stayed silent and continued to look around for something as he drove.

"What are we trying to find? Maybe I could help you with it, if you told me what to look for." I offered, looking for landmarks or anything out of the ordinary.

"I'll know when we get there." Edward replied, still concentrating on the road ahead.

"Aha! This is it!" Came the triumphant burst as he pulled off the side of the road near a lush tree line.

"It is? What's this? There's nothing here except some trees. That wasn't even a parking space. I don't think we're supposed to stop here. We'll probably get in trouble if we get caught out here. Is this a forest of some sort?" I rambled rhetorically to myself.

"Don't worry. We're not going to get caught and we aren't roughing it. I know how much you hate that sort of thing." Edward laughed, taking my hand in his and holding a basket in the other. "Come on. It's just up here, if I got the directions right."

"It's kind of late for a picnic, don't you think, Edward?" I asked, gazing over at the basket he held. In the dark, I could barely make out the faint outline of a few thick blankets. My heart skipped. Blankets. A basket. The woods. Privacy. This was it! It would happen here. Our first time. Alone, under the stars...

Wait! There was something else under the blankets. A camcorder!

"Edward Cullen! Are you planning on _filming_ this? What kind of girl do you think I am?" I asked, shocked and yet, slightly turned on by the idea at the same time.

With that, Edward laughed, shaking his head and stepped through the tall grass, past the line of trees and into a clearing. I followed him and stood speachless as my senses were assaulted with a visual treat I had never seen before. In the sky, all around me, greenish-yellow lights fanned out like enormous ripples on water, extending as far as the eye could see. The tall trees had blocked the view from the street, but here, the secret light show played out for those who knew of the legends and had dared to venture out far enough into the cold to find it.

The colors were so bright and electric against the dark sky that it wouldn't have had the same impact in the daytime. I had heard of the Northern Lights before, but never associated them with Finland. I assumed Canada and Alaska were the extent of the phenomenon.

"Aurora Borealis. Northern Lights! This was what I brought you here to see, Bella. I hope you like it. We have a few hours before the clouds pull in and the visual is lost. The camcorder you saw was so you could have a little record of this to share with Charlie when you go back. A souvenir." He set up a tripod, mounted the camcorder on top, and aimed it at the sky to capture the magic on DVD.

"Oh my God, Edward. It's so... it's just so..." I gaped at the luminescant glow in the sky, not finding the right words to express the beauty all around me.

Edward smiled sweetly at my inability to form words and spread a large fleece blanket on the ground and pulled me down next to him.

"I'm glad you like it, my love. The Fins call this 'Revontulet!' It means fox fire." He explained to me as he wrapped another blanket around us and pulled a bottle of wine and some chocolate covered strawberries out of a container in the basket.

"See there. It looks like a fox spreading fire with it's tail. That's how it got the name. What actually causes the phenomenon is plasma from the sun coming through the earth's atmosphere. When they hit gasses in the ionosphere, the plasma particles glow like this. The green color indicates a lot of oxygen. Sometimes the lights will appear to be violet, blue or reddish..."

Edward fed me the chocolate covered strawberries as he explained the legends and folklore surrounding the lights to me. When I licked his finger, slowly, after swallowing my fifth strawberry, Edward stopped talking and drew in a shaky breath. He stood up and turned the camcorder off and I wondered if I had offended him in some way.

"Bella, you need to understand something. This.." he motioned all around us "this place... is a traditional rite of passage, so to speak. A young Finnish man in love will bring his lady here when he wants to be alone with her, in a romantic way." He said, looking slyly at me while his topaz eyes burned with intensity.

"So, this is like some 'Inspiration point' make-out place... kind-of-thing?" I asked hopefully, while wondering about Edward's sudden nervousness.

"Not exactly. This is where they would go when they realized they were past the making out stage and are ready for the next step."

"Oh!" My heart skipped a beat as I stopped breathing. I had waited so long to hear Edward say those words to me that I didn't know if it had really said them or if my mind had fabricated some wonderful delusion for me to slip into.

"I thought tonight was finally the perfect time. But I don't want to rush you, either. Our first time should be perfect. We will have eternity together, so if it doesn't feel right tonight, or if you've changed your mind and want to wait, that's ok."

"No!" I yelled at him, then collected myself and spoke in a calm manner. "I mean - no, I don't want to wait anymore! I'm ready, Edward. I've been wanting this ever since our time at the spa! Truth is - I would have given you everything right then and there..." I stopped, my face turning red, as I realized what I was so bluntly saying.

"I love seeing you blush. I'm going to miss that so much when I change you." He said, pulling me down on top of him.

"I'm not. Ummm, Edward.." I whispered, sedatedly, in between kisses. "About that...Is this safe? You know,... for me?" An unexpected thought crept into my head.

"I can't get you pregnant and I have no diseases. I can't spread anything to you, anyway." He answered, still kissing me, feverishly.

I giggled and sat up, distancing myself from him slightly, to gather my thoughts and better phrase my question. "I know that..No. I meant blood-wise. Is there any danger of you losing control? This is embarassing , but... I'm a ...a virgin. I'm pretty sure I will bleed a little bit...Is my blood going to tempt you?"

"No. Not tonight. I'm too full. All day while you slept, I hunted. I gorged myself, in preparation... and hoped I wasn't being too presumptuous..."

I smiled. "It's not too presumptuous at all. And as long as there's no danger...I can't think of a more perfect way to end the night. I'm ready and I love you, Edward." I said, misty eyed.

"I love you, too! I will be slow and gentle with you.." he promised.

"Show me." I shivered as Edward reached for me again, pulling me back down under the blankets with him.

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An hour and a half later, as I lay naked in Edward's arms, finally emotionally and physically spent, the Northern lights started to fade.

"I'm sorry it has to end..." I uttered, looking at Edward's perfectly chiseled face reflected in the last of the faint light.

"They usually only last a few hours at a time. Maybe, if we're lucky we will have an opportunity to see another one before we have to go back." he smiled and gently kissed the top of my head.

"I love being with you. And the last hour and a half was the best of my life. Our time together has been so amazing. It doesn't matter if we do something spectacular or hang out and watch a hockey game on my couch.. I am happy to share my life with you. Every minute of it. You know, now that finals are over, I'm actually going to miss our tutoring sessions and your reward incentives."

"So am I!" he agreed. "But it was a little difficult to progressively outdo the rewards each time...and since you passed all of your exams with flying colors..." he shrugged.

I sat in silence for a few minutes and suddenly a brilliant idea popped into my head.

"Hey, Edward..." I started, innocently enough. "Next semester I have to take English Composition. I suck at writing a coherant thought and forget about actually structuring anything properly. Unless I get some help, I'm bound to fail the class..." I held my breath and waited.

His face lit up and he smiled a perfect, crooked, knowing smile. "I'm pretty good at Composition. What do you say we start an after school tutoring program for it...?"

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Of course, I don't know what I can possibly reward you with that will rival a grand prize of a trip to Finland..." he said sarcastically.

I smiled at him as the lights went out and replied "I do..."

_A/N: Pouring champagne to celebrate finally completing my first story! _

_Thank you so much to all of my devoted and patient readers! This chapter goes out to all of you! You've touched my heart and brightened many days for me. This is the vacation I hope togo onone day. And like Bella - I am slowly learning the beautiful Finnish language. Not too good at it yet, but I'm getting there._

_Well, now that it's over, I have mixed feelings. I'm relieved that it is done and I'mconfident with the way it ended, but at the same timeI am also a little sad to not be writing this anymore. If there are any of you on here who haven't read my other story (Bon Voyage) yet, this is the time to try it out and see if you like it because from now on out, all of my free writing time will be focused onthat. I hope to see all of you over there because I've come to be quite fond of you... Thanks again for all the amazing reviews and well wishes and suggestions and for the extraordinary few who've stayed up til the wee hours of the morning with me talking about everything and nothing and keeping me laughing. You guys are the best and I love you! _

_Hugs, Kisses, and Vampire Bites! - Goodnight_


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